rip-off (n.)

"an act of fraud, a swindle," 1969, from verbal phrase rip off "to steal or rob" (c. 1967) in African-American vernacular, from rip (v.) + off (adv.). Rip was prison slang for "to steal" since 1904, and was also used in this sense in 12c. The specific meaning "an exploitative imitation" is from 1971, also "a plagiarism." Related: Ripped-off.