I was the victim of a complicated ruse.
Try "ruse"...
Noun. A 'ruse' is a joke or trick.
ruse
My ruse to fool you by creating a fake sentence failed because this is a legitmate sentence.
Lurk. And I know 4th grade homework is hard.
Ruse
Dropping aluminum foil from aircraft was a ruse employed during World War Two to interfere with the German radar monitoring equipment. (ruse means a crafty stratagem a subterfuge.)
I played a game called R.U.S.E last night. I did an awesome ruse that tricked the enemy, it was so awesome.
A couple of possible words are ruse or wile
They will try various ruses to get you into buying their policies.
The word you're looking for is.... ruse.
An action intended to deceive someone; a trick.