ONLINE DECEPTION: A DISCOURSE STUDY OF EMAIL BUSINESS SCAMS

This chapter examines email business scams - types of phishing that solicit business partnership with email account owners with the aim of defrauding them. In this category are emails that seek assistance to transfer some money or claim some abandoned money in dormant bank accounts overseas. Through a qualitative discourse analysis of 50 samples, the study analyses the textual and genre features of these emails, as well as their narrative structures. Analysis also highlights authorial stance of the email writers. This include rhetoric and persuasive strategies that the con writers apply in their business proposals, such as the negotiation of interpersonal relationship, trust, and confidentiality. The study concludes that contrary to some research speculations, email business scams are not likely to end in the near future, because the writers not only demonstrate a commendable competence in communication, they also take the advantage of information technology to the fullest. In addition, they exploit the human greed for free money