Briefs

Feb 4, 2003. In the largest language technology project undertaken in Australia, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission has contracted the team to build Scamseeker, a million-dollar digital watchdog to patrol the internet in search of scams.

The premise of Scamseeker is that although most things can be expressed in a multitude of ways, the language of fraud cannot vary too much if the aim is to get a particular message across.

Professor Patrick said a classic example was the Nigerian email, which has plagued the internet for several years. "If you look at the Nigerian email, it says things like 'This is not a scam'. Denial of what it might be is a real warning sign," he said.

Most scams talk generally about money, or making more money than can normally be made. Pyramid schemes focus on earning, while straight scams use terms associated with secrecy. "The psychological difference is that with multi-level schemes you are expected to engage in the process and there is a sense of moral rightness," he said.

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