Green’s Dictionary of Slang

lurker n.

[lurk n.]

1. a criminal beggar (often well-dressed) who travels the country showing off various forged certificates referring to losses in fires, shipwrecks or similar disasters and hoping thereby to get financial aid.

[Aus]Northern Star 28 May 5/6: [advert] Price 4d. in wrapper [...] a Full and Complete Exposure of the various impositions and Schemes daily practisced by every descrption of Vagrants [...] from the Lurker up to the humble Thimble-rigger. By a Vagrant of Fifteen Years’ Experience.
[UK]Gloucester Citizen 11 Jan. 7/2: Known in the underworld as ‘lurkers,’ [...] their favourite game is to pose as a friend of some service member of the family temporarily out of funds.
[UK]Gloucester Citizen 11 Jan. 7/2: The ordinary tale-pitcher has a respect for the practitioner known as the ‘heavy lurker,’ who works among the aristocracy.
[UK]Lancaster Gaz. 5 Apr. 3/5: Lurkers are persons who go about begging with briefs, containing false statements of losses by fire, shipwrecks, etc.
[UK]Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
[UK](con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor I 313/1: The imitation was excellent, and the ‘lurker’ swore hard and fast to the worthy justice that he (the justice) did write it.
[UK]East London Obs. 19 Mar. 6/6: The carpenter [...] found himself enlisted by a band of ‘lurkers’ — sham workmen.
[US]G.A. Brine letter July 3 in Ribton-Turner (1887) n.p.: I have been a ‘shallow cove’ (i.e. a member of the land navy; also a ‘highflyer’ (i.e. a begging-letter impostor); a ‘lurker’ (one who is forty different trades, and master of none). My favourite ‘lurk’ was butcher, tallow chandler, or currier.
[Scot]Dundee Courier (Scot.) 1 Feb. 7/4: He’s one of us, after all. A ‘lurker,’ I suppose [...] Wonder what’s his ‘lurk?’ Looks like a broken-down parson.
[UK]Leics. Chron. 24 May 12/4: ‘That’s a lurker, a chap who fakes a begging letter among the gentry,’ said Jerry.
[UK]W.E. Henley ‘Villon’s Good-Night’ in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 174: You bible-sharps that thump on tubs, / You lurkers on the Abram-sham.
[Aus]C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 47: Lurker, an impostor.

2. (Aus.) a petty criminal.

[Aus]E. Dyson Fact’ry ’Ands 96: I set up ez er professional lurker.
[Aus]Sun. Times (Perth) 29 Jan. 45/9: There waas salaried jobs for the fortunate few, / Including the loafer and lurker.

In phrases

dead lurker (n.)

see separate entry.