CENTRE FOR CONTINUING STUDIES Certificate of Proficiency of English for Professional Communication
CEEN 212 ENGLISH COMMUNICATION PRACTICE 1 READING A Telemarketing: Hanging Up on Telemarketing Fraud (Adapted from http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/telemarketing/telemarketing-fraud.html)
Consumers across the country were robbed of more than $1 million in 2006 in a variety of telemarketing fraud schemes. Many Canadians have found it hard to hang up on fast-talking scam artists selling special investment opportunities or promising free trips and prizes. While many consumers think they can’t be fooled by a telemarketing scam, police caution that fraud artists use sophisticated techniques to manipulate and trick people. Corporal Louis Robertson, of the RCMP's Criminal Intelligence Analytical Unit, said fraud artists can target anyone. "You could be 16 years old or you could be 92 years old. You are a potential victim," he said. Telemarketing fraud can have terrible results, leaving people emotionally shaken and in financial ruin. But experts suggest people can separate legitimate business calls from scams if they ask critical questions and hang up on suspicious callers. How to protect yourself "If it's too nice, it's not true," Robertson said of telemarketing sales pitches that try to appeal to people's needs or desires. Fraud artists try to exploit people's vulnerabilities to their advantage by making wonderful promises and offers. Who wouldn't want a free Caribbean cruise to break a long and cold winter? Why wouldn't you want to enter a lottery if you were guaranteed to win? Consumers should slow down and ask questions before agreeing to anything. If you are unsure whether a service or offer is legitimate, take down callback numbers, ask the caller to mail additional information, and ask for references. The following tips will also help protect your savings: 
If you don't remember entering a contest you have supposedly won, be skeptical and demand more information.
Canadians cannot win out-of-country lotteries. If you are told you've won one, hang up immediately. If a caller tells you that you need to pay for the delivery, taxes or processing of a prize, be cautious. Sometimes, telemarketers will ask their victims to send cash or money orders, as they cannot be traced. Ask for more literature to be mailed to you along with references before you agree to purchase a service or a product. If a person is calling on behalf of a charity, ask them to call back after you've done some research. Check Revenue Canada's database to ensure it is a registered charity.
Robertson said people who surrender personal financial information over the phone are at risk of losing money and their identities. "Not only will you be a telemarketing victim, you are a potential ID-theft victim, next week, next month, next year, in five years, don't know, but you will be put on the list and that list will be posted on the internet eventually," he said. HOMEWORK Vocabulary: Look up 3 new words from the article in the dictionary and tell your classmates the definition of each word. 1. _____________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________ Questions: Write down two questions you would like to ask your classmate to get his or her opinion about the article. 1. ____________________________________________________________________ 2.
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Conversation in Class Tell your partner about the article in your own words. Ask your partner the questions you wrote down.