This lesson is suitable for intermediate-level learners. After listening, test your knowledge with our quiz.
Learning notes
Different phrases to use when talking about being scammed online:
- Don't click on suspicious links!
- I fell for one once. I got a phishing email that looked really genuine.
- I always verify the sender before responding.
- The scammers almost tricked me into giving my bank details.
- I reported them to the authorities.
Learning focus:
We can use the passive voice when we want to show that someone is doing something to us. This helps to show that we are innocent, that we are not doing anything.
Passive voice: (be or get + past participle - usually ending in 'ed' or 'en')
In the dialogue we see:
..others are more likely to be taken in by scams (get + taken in by something)
Allan: I almost got tricked into giving the scammers my bank details
(got + tricked into doing something)
Claire: …it's so easy to get scammed these days (get + scammed)
Colloquial expressions:
A little bit sus is an informal way of saying a little bit suspicious,
To be taken in means to believe something is true when it is not.
We have to watch out, it's so easy to get scammed these days.
Vocabulary:
A scam is a type of robbery where people pretend to be someone they are not to trick people into giving them money or information that they can use to take their money.
A phishing email is an email sent by scammers to trick you into providing log-in, financial, or personal information that they can then steal. It often looks like a real company or organisation that you can usually trust, like banks or Medicare.
To fall prey to someone means 'to be deceived' or 'be tricked by someone'.
Authorities (the plural form of 'authority') means the people who have some power. In this context, it means those who have the power to deal with legal issues.
To verify means to prove that something exists and is true.
Transcript:
(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)
SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.
Hi everyone, I am Gloria. Nice to meet you all! The other day, I received a message from the Australian Taxation Office about my tax return process. It had a link included, asking me to click on it and re-enter some of my personal details.
It looked real, but then I remembered that the Taxation Office had sent out information warning people to be aware of scam messages and saying that they would never send messages or emails with a link asking anyone to access online services or enter personal details.
A scam is a type of robbery in which people pretend to be someone they are not to trick people into giving them money or information that they can use to take their money.
So, I thought that the message I got looked 'a bit sus'. 'Sus' is an informal way pf saying 'suspicious', that is, not quite right.
The online world is a bit scary these days. I nearly clicked on the link they provided, and I am normally quite a suspicious person, but it's getting hard not to be taken in by scams when they are getting harder and harder to identify.
To 'be taken in' means to believe something is true when it is not. You can be taken in by something – like a scam – if you believe in it, and you can be taken in by a person if you think that they are very nice and then discover that they aren't. Are you easily taken in by scams? I hope not.
But unfortunately, falling prey to scams, is something that can happen to many people.
'Falling prey to' means 'to be deceived' or 'be tricked' by someone. Prey is an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food, so, in this context, the scammer is the hunter and the victim, the poor, innocent, person receiving the email, is the prey.
Let's hear how Allan and Claire respond to an unusual text message. Do you think either of them will fall prey to a scam?
Claire
I've been getting a lot of scam texts lately, usually telling me about unusual activity detected in my bank account.
Allan
Oooh! That doesn't sound good. Don't click on any suspicious links, will you! I fell for one once. I got a phishing email that looked really genuine.
Claire
No worries. I always verify the sender before responding. What happened to you?
Allan
It was close. I almost got tricked into giving the scammers my bank details. But I realised in time and reported them to the authorities.
Claire
Good on you! We have to watch out, it's so easy to get scammed these days.
It’s true, I agree with Claire, it is a scary world out there. So, Allan nearly got caught out, that is, taken in.
But let's go from the beginning. First Claire said,
I’ve been getting a lot of scam texts lately, usually telling me about unusual activity detected in my bank account.
Claire said that she’s been getting a lot of scam texts lately. Scam texts are fake messages sent to you, often trying to steal your money or personal information.
She also said that these scam texts are...
... usually telling me about unusual activity detected in my bank account.
If there is unusual activity detected in your bank account, there’s something strange or unexpected happening to your account.
Do you remember the advice Allan gave Claire? He said,
Don’t click on any suspicious links!
A suspicious link is a web address or a clickable part of a message that looks unsafe or untrustworthy. Scammers use these links to try to steal your personal information or money.
Allan also said,
I fell for one once. I got a phishing email that looked really genuine.
Now, what did Allan mean when he said, he 'fell for one once'?
'Fell for' is the past tense of 'fall for'. If you 'fall for something', it means that you've been tricked into believing something that is not true, in this context: it's the scam that Allan almost 'fell for'. There is also a rather different meaning (because English is so tricky). If you say that you 'fell for someone', this means that you fell in love with them.
Well, honestly, between being tricked and in love, what's the difference really.
Fortunately, in this case, Allan definitely did NOT fall for the scam or for the scammer!
The scam in this case was a phishing mail, which is an email sent by scammers in order to trick you into providing personal information that they can then steal and use, like financial information, passwords or identification. They often look like a real company or organisation that you can usually trust, like banks or government services.
But let's go back to Claire. She did something very important…, Claire said,
I always verify the sender before responding.
'Verify' means to check that something exists and is true, so in this case, it's about finding out whether it is true if the sender is who they claim to be.
Well, she needs to watch out for herself, it's so easy to get scammed these days.
We use the phrase 'watch out' when we want to warn people to be careful.
Allan said,
I almost got tricked into giving the scammers my bank details. But I realised in time and reported them to the authorities.
Authorities is the plural form of 'authority' – and it means the people who have some power. In this case, the authorities mean the bank that Claire is with because they have the power to do something about the email.
Now that we've had a look at some words and phrases we can use to talk about scamming, let's listen to the dialogue again. Practice makes perfect, am I right? Well, we don't have to be perfect, but we can always try!
A big thank you to our educational consultant, Professor Lynda Yates, and our guest Allana Ferreira.
Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire. Micky Grossman did the sound design.
