忽悠 was popularized by the comedian 赵本山 (Zhào Běnshān) in his 2001 Spring Festival Gala skit '卖拐.' It became one of the most iconic catchwords in modern Chinese, spreading from northeastern dialect to nationwide use.
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忽悠 is colloquial and informal. It implies a lighter, more playful deception than 骗 (piàn, to cheat) or 欺骗 (qīpiàn, to deceive). You might 忽悠 a friend into buying you lunch, but a serious fraud is 欺骗.
