Scam mail

Alice: Hello, I'm Alice…
Finn: And I'm Finn.
Alice: And this is 6 Minute English! This week we’re talking about a crackdown on
scam mail.
Finn: Scam mail – that’s post sent to people, asking them for money or promising¹
them prizes like cars or holidays
Alice: The Metropolitan² Police – the police force in London – has said that it will
crack down on companies and criminal groups sending scam mail. It’s seized
thousands of letters. Do you ever get these scam mail letters Finn?
Finn: Yes, Alice, I do, occasionally.
Alice: What do they look like?
Finn: They’re often quite convincing, they’re addressed to me personally and some
really look quite official sometimes.
Alice: Well, before we get into the murky³ world of scam mail – I have a question for
you about the post, Finn. What was the name of the first sticky postage stamp
which went on sale on the 1st May 1840? Was it:
a) The penny brown b) The penny black or c) The penny blue
Finn: I don’t know much about stamps. Let me guess a, the penny brown.
Alice: Well, I won’t tell you the answer now – we’ll find out at the end of the
programme. So let’s hear more about scam mail from an investigation⁴ by the
Metropolitan Police and in this report by the BBC’s Phil Lavelle:
Insert 1: Phil Lavelle
It’s bright, it’s colourful and it tells us that a top gift is waiting, and most of us will have
thrown it straight in the bin⁵. The problem is when the more vulnerable members of
society reply to these letters, especially when they look like they are official. For
example, this one says, ‘You must reply immediately! Do not delay!’ It is a final notice,
so it grabs the attention. Another one looks like it’s come from a government
department. In fact, it says it’s from the US Department of Finance and Disclosure. So
again, it looks official and it grabs attention.
Alice: Phil Lavelle says that most people throw these letters straight in the bin, but the
police are worried about vulnerable people responding to these scam letters.
Finn: Vulnerable people – the elderly, or people with learning difficulties who trust
letters they get in the post.
Alice: The letters often have a sense of urgency.
Finn: The people who send the letters want you to act quickly – they often say things
like ‘Do not delay!’, ‘Reply immediately!’ or, ‘Offer ends soon’.
Alice: They grab attention! And Phil Lavelle says that many of the letters look
official – in his example he has a letter which sounds like it comes from a real
government department.
Finn: So how big is this problem Alice?
Alice: Police estimate that about 3.5 billion pounds is sent to postal⁶ scammers every
year in the UK. They’re even linking five suicides of people who got heavily
in debt sending money in postal scams.
Finn: Heavily in debt – that means they owe a lot of money.
Alice: One of the problems, apparently⁷, is if you respond once to one scam letter – a
tempter letter - your details are given to other criminal groups and entered
onto a sucker list.
Finn: A sucker list – now, a sucker is somebody who is easily fooled or duped.
Alice: Here’s the BBC’s Home Affairs correspondent, June Kelly:
Insert 2: June Kelly
After replying to one of these so-called tempter letters a victim’s name is put on what’s
called a suckers list, and sold to criminals all over the world. These suckers lists
comprise many vulnerable people, including the elderly. They’ll be bombarded with
mail. Some have ended up in desperate financial straits, some with health problems.
Alice: June Kelly says that some people have ended up in desperate financial straits –
a very bad financial situation.
Finn: People get bombarded with mail. They receive lots and lots of letters.
Alice: One elderly man the BBC spoke⁸ to who started responding to scam mail has
sent at least ?3,000 to scammers – and now receives up to 70 letters every day.
The problem is that once people get hooked it’s very difficult to stop. Here’s
Detective Superintendent⁹ Mark Ponting of the Metropolitan Police, who says
even with consumer information about the risks of answering scam mail
people continue to send money.
Insert 3: Detective Superintendent Mark Ponting
I’ve met quite a few now, several dozen individuals who find it difficult, if not often
impossible once they’re hooked, to stop. So you can give them all the consumer
education in the world, and actually once they’re hooked they’re not going to stop.
Alice: Well, that’s all we have time for today. But before we go Finn, the answer to
our question about the first sticky postage stamp. You said…
Finn: My sticky answer was a, the penny brown…..
Alice: There was a penny brown, but the first sticky postage stamp was actually the
penny black.
Finn: A-ha, the penny black!
Alice: So, you don’t get a prize this week, but it would still be nice if you’d read out
today’s words and phrases.
Finn: That’s enough of a prize for me, Alice! What could be better?
Here we go:
crackdown    scam mail     official   vulnerable
a sense of urgency    heavily in debt
tempter   sucker   bombarded   hooked
Alice: Thanks so much for that, Finn. We hope you’ll join us next time on "6 Minute
English". Bye.
Finn: Bye for now.
 

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

3 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

6 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。