6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
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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 promising
them prizes like cars or holidays
Alice: The Metropolitan 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 murky 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.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
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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 investigation 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 bin. 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 postal 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.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
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Alice: One of the problems, apparently, 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 spoke 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 Superintendent 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…..
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
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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.
