SCAM is a

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

produced by Erica Lyle (aka "Iggy Scam"), launched in 1991. The zine covers punk rock culture and

grassroots activism A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

in various locations, including

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In early issues, the zine explored

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

dumpster diving Dumpster diving (also totting, skipping, skip diving or skip salvage) is salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is n ...

train hopping Freighthopping or trainhopping is the act of surreptitiously boarding and riding a freight railroad car, which is usually illegal. Origins and history In the United States, freighthopping became a common means of transportation following the ...

, and

volunteering Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group wikt:gratis, freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. O ...

with

needle exchange programs A needle and syringe programme (NSP), also known as needle exchange program (NEP), is a social service that allows injecting drug users (IDUs) to obtain clean and unused hypodermic needles and associated paraphernalia at little or no cost. It ...

and

Food Not Bombs Food Not Bombs (FNB) is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, sharing free vegan and vegetarian food with others. The group believes that corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance ...

. Furthermore, the zine explained "scams" to readers, so that they could attain items or benefits for free. Lyle started the zine as a teenager, after fleeing a violent home situation in Palm Beach County. She moved into a

Ft. Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

punk house, where she was introduced to a zine called ''Get Loose''. This zine helped inspired Lyle to create her own zine. Early issues of SCAM focused on topics such as

freighthopping Freighthopping or trainhopping is the act of surreptitiously boarding and riding a freight railroad car, which is usually illegal. Origins and history In the United States, freighthopping became a common means of transportation following the A ...

, generator shows,

wheatpasting Wheat paste (also known as flour and water paste, flour paste, or simply paste) is a gel or liquid adhesive made from wheat flour or starch and water. It has been used since antiquity for various arts and crafts such as book binding, découpag ...

, selling plasma, and returning stolen merchandise. For contemporary audiences, many of the scams detailed in the zine are no longer relevant. However, the zine is understood to be a source of inspiration and creative resistance for many readers. It is particularly known for documenting a life that aims to "...resist capitalism and have fun AND have a sense of humour at the same time," according to Microcosm Publishing. Over time, the zine became more political. In 2008, Lyle produced an issue that focused on

street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...

and activism in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2010, SCAM examined Art Basel, juxtaposing the elite art world with the tent cities of Miami. In 2011, SCAM focused on Black Flag and the Los Angeles punk scene. In 2016, Lyle produced a twenty-fifth anniversary issue, which included interviews with Barry McGee,

Danny Lyon Danny Lyon (born March 16, 1942) is an American photographer and filmmaker. All of Lyon's publications work in the style of photographic New Journalism, meaning that the photographer has become immersed in with, and is a participant of, the doc ...

, Rebecca Giordano, and others. Lyle explained in an interview, "The magazine started as a way to document the life my friends and I were leading as teenagers, which was getting everything for free hrough scams, stealing, and resource-sharing But it was also a way to participate in and broaden my community. As I got older, my interests changed. I became less interested specifically in punk and more involved in activism, and I started doing other self-publishing projects for a broader audience. ''SCAM'' is sort of morphing into more longform, underground journalism, where I try to cover things outside of the mainstream but in a really careful and thoughtful way." In 2010, Microcosm Publishing printed ''Scam: The First Four Issues''.{{Cite web, url=https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3124, title=Scam: The First Four Issues, website=Microcosm Publishing, language=en, access-date=2019-11-24 In 2019, Lyle joined the band

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the ...

as a guitarist. She discussed SCAM in interviews, and she stated that an eleventh issue was in development.

References

Punk zines 1991 establishments in Florida