Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. take down (something)
    • ex. Jim's funny video was taken down from the website because it broke the rules.
  2. a scam
    • ex. The online store looked real, but it turned out to be a scam, and people lost their money.
  3. too good to be true
    • ex. My friend saw a laptop online for a very low price, and she thought it was too good to be true.
  4. unsolicited
    • ex. The company got many unsolicited emails offering new products they didn't ask for.
  5. force
    • ex. His injury forces him to stop playing football for a few weeks.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts connected to illegal scam centers, according to its parent company, Meta. This action took place in the first half of the year as part of Meta’s plan to fight scams on its platforms.

Online scams are becoming more common and more difficult to recognize. But in many situations, scam messages seem too good to be true. People often receive them as unsolicited or spam messages that try to steal personal or bank information. Some also try to recruit people into fake jobs or business offers. According to Meta, some scam companies force people to work for them to trick more victims. In one case, a group of online criminals used AI-generated messages to offer payments for fake likes on different social media pages.

Besides taking down accounts of scam centers, WhatsApp is also adding new safety tools, like alerts when someone not in your contacts adds you to a group. Meanwhile, Meta stopped a large scam campaign in Cambodia with help from OpenAI. Meta continues to work to protect users from scams worldwide.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Scams

  • Is it common for you to receive a scam message online or on your phone? Why do you say so? Discuss.
  • What are some ways people can protect themselves from scams online (ex. not clicking links from strange emails)? Discuss.
  • Why do you think online scams are becoming more common? Discuss.

Apps and Online Platforms

  • What app or online platform do you use the most? Why? Discuss.
  • WhatsApp removed 6.8 million accounts connected to scam centers. What do you think of this effort by WhatsApp and Meta (ex. it’s enough, it’s not enough)? Discuss.
  • When a new app or online platform becomes popular, are you usually interested in trying the app/platform? Why or why not? Discuss.