Case Study on Scam Mail by https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z Anna Tran and Lea Koschay en-us 2022-06-13 14:09:03 UTC 2022-07-04 07:29:32 UTC hello@padlet.com RESEARCH QUESTION LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219540999 Which word classes commonly occur within scam email subject lines and how are they used to create deception?]]> 2022-06-13 13:20:35 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219540999 SPAM VS. SCAM LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219541914
  • spam = „‘Unsolicited bulk emails’“
  • first spam sent in 1978
  • 100 billion spam messages daily (2008)
  • scam = fraudulent emails
    • (Schaffer 2012, 158)
    ]]>     2022-06-13 13:21:15 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219541914     METHOD / APPROACH annatran7999 https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219606637
  • Corpus-driven / inductive approach
  • mainly quantitative
    • write down all words from subject lines of 40 emails over two weeks
    • count frequency of words
    • with excel, COUNTA in pivot table
  • mixed with qualitative method
    • assign word classes to words
    • → detect pattern
    ]]>     2022-06-13 14:13:54 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219606637     NOW ITS YOUR TURN! LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219623065 Please take a quick look into your spam folder from your mails. Do our results correlate with what you can see in your spam? 

    Have you ever fallen victim to a scam? Please explain. 
    What would you do differently now?
    What do you do to protect yourself from spam? ]]>     2022-06-13 14:27:37 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219623065     annatran7999 https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219631405 2022-06-13 14:34:36 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219631405 LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219632319 2022-06-13 14:35:17 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219632319 RESULTS LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219638869 Themes:
    • payment, finance
    • security, warnings, alerts, reminders
    • prize, rewards
    • health, fitness, dietary
    • job offfer
    • delivery

    Outcome:
    • total no. of words counted 214 -> you/ your most frequent
    • most frequent word classes: 
      • verbs and nouns 
      • possessive determiners and pronouns
    Functions
    • Adverbs 
      • create pressure, stress urgency and call for immediate action

    • Possessive determiners (your) / personal pronouns (you)  used by scammers 
      • to win trust of recipients and encourage immediate action by addressing them directly
      • to position the scammer and target recipients differently ("me-&-you" - dimension)
      • possessive det. + nouns as reference to material possessions (e.g. your payment, your account)

    (Anafo, Ngula 2020, 35)

    ]]>     2022-06-13 14:40:36 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2219638869     PROBLEMS OCCURRED annatran7999 https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2225629453
  • not every spam mail is scam (content wise) → had to filter it first manually
  • quantity of scam during research period
  • counting words (method, complex)
  • general work with excel (logistics)
    • ]]>     2022-06-20 10:02:30 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2225629453     LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2231333255 2022-06-27 10:14:08 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2231333255 LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2231342485 2022-06-27 10:29:48 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2231342485 Suggestions to Avoid or Reduce Malicious Spam LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2231366441
  • don't respond to spam
  • do not click on any suspicious links
  • check address 
  • check for anomalies, e.g. typos, symbols, fake logos
  • refrain from sharing personal information electronically
  • check anti-scam websites, check official website 
  • report suspicious e-mails 
    • ]]>     2022-06-27 11:07:35 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2231366441     LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2236283187 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19sutnenOrODxvWkhc8rRv5ka2YGZbBwOcmxgGt9lIUk/edit#gid=0]]> 2022-07-04 07:20:58 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2236283187 SOURCES LeaKoschay https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2236285715 Anafo, C., & Ngula, R. S. (2020). On the grammar of scam: transitivity, manipulation and deception in scam emails. WORD, 66(1), 16-39.

    Schaffer, D. (2012). The language of scam spams: linguistic features of" Nigerian fraud" e-mails. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 157-179.]]>     2022-07-04 07:24:31 UTC https://padlet.com/LeaKoschay/g4p80o70nlrzb41z/wish/2236285715