A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF SCAM MAILS

Abstract

Scam mails are a form of financial fraud in which huge offers of money are made to people provided they pass on bank details and other personal information to the perpetrator.This kind of message presents us with a typical instance of globalized communication,they are produced in the margins of the world and sent to other places;they are electronically mediated;and they are written in varieties of world languages,mostly English. Patterns in content include similar narratives involving vast sums of money to be transferred from the scammer’s home cou ntry with outside help and common persuasive strategies frequently involving apologies,flattery,attempts to intrigue,trust and religious feelings,while patterns in writing features include use of attention inducing b uzz words like “urgent’’ and “ secret’ ’ in subject headings as well as in the letters themselves, and obvious nonnative English grammar,mechanics and vocabulary errors.Inspite of the cruder elements of these letters and worldwide efforts to fight the con artists sending them,recipients are still drawn into these scams in large numbers,losing huge sums of money every year.The best defense against them must still entail comprehensive public education about the nature of this scam.