A discoursal investigation into the linguistic architecture of Chinese cyber frauds

This study aimed to unravel the architecture of cybercrimes in the Chinese online chats. How people manipulate language as a crime tool was the main concern of this study, and the objective of the present study was to provide some insight into the study of pragmatics in cybercrimes. As a result, this study presented a module of cheats’ speech. The politeness strategy cheats applied, and the speech acts cheats performed were both explored. Making use of the pragmatic strategies and speech act that cheats apply within the conversation, this research found that the QQ hacking frauds have harmed the victims’ property and made the online environment unsafe. The significance of this study is to present a pattern on the way cheats employ to steal money. The results help language users and learners to find out how cheats utilize language to present untruth as truth, and to get others to believe them. A better understanding of deception in CMC can also help to educate Internet users in online deception. To compare with the hoax email writers, the cheats in instant communication appeared more aggressive and imperative, but they will soften their diction if victims do not chat with them instantly.