実践ビジネス英語 ディクテーション (6/14,15)

NHKラジオ「実践ビジネス英語」”Talk the Talk”のディクテーションです。

Lesson 5のテーマは、’Robocalls and Scams’（迷惑電話と特殊詐欺）でした。Vignetteでは、アメリカでは詐欺目的のロボコール（セールスなどを目的に、自動発信で録音されたメッセージを流す電話）が増えていることや、電話によるさまざまな詐欺行為とその対処法などが話題になりました。日本でオレオレ詐欺と呼ばれるものは、アメリカでは”grandparent scam（祖父母詐欺）”と呼ばれているそうです。

Talk the Talkでは、杉田先生が日本とアメリカで受けた詐欺電話について話されています。（英語の罵り言葉は苦手です・・・）

*英文の終わりに語注をつけました。

Robocalls and Scams

（S: 杉田敏先生　H: Heather Howardさん）

S: Our current vignette talks about the growing problem of scam robocalls: phone calls aimed at cheating people out of money.

Of course we have phone scams in Japan as well.

Have you ever encountered that sort of thing, Heather?

H: Not from someone trying to cheat me out of money.

But I was plagued by a prank caller many years ago.

Someone started calling my apartment and saying strange things into the phone.

At first it was just every so often, but then it started happening more and more until this person was calling many times a day and at all hours.

It was frustrating and unnerving.

But ultimately it became the source of a romantic moment between me and my husband.

He was my boyfriend at that time and one night the person called while he was at my apartment.

I told my then-boyfriend what had been going on and he said, “Let me take the next call.”

So when the phone rang a few minutes later, he answered it and said in the most aggressive, butch language I had ever heard from him, “Who the ****ing *** ***is there and why are you bothering my girlfriend?”

Whoever it was hung up and never called me again. Thanks, honey.

What about you, Mr. Sugita?

S: I used to get fraudulent calls when I lived in the States many years ago.

The caller would say things like: ”Congratulations! You’ve just won $5 million in a lottery.”

The first time I got a call like that, I didn’t quite grasp what she was talking about.

So I started asking questions like, “How did I win this prize?”

Instead of answering, the caller asked: “Do you want the money?”

When I said no, she just hung up.

I started getting such calls from time to time, so I asked my American colleagues how to deal with them.

They recommended just saying, “I’m not interested,” which worked in most cases.

H: Yes, that’s what I do when telemarketers call my house.

As soon as they say, “I’m calling with a money saving offer,” or “Did you know about this great credit card?” I immediately reply, “Thank you very much, but I’m gonna pass on that.”

And then I just get off the phone.

Have you dealt with any fraudulent calls in Japan?

S: My wife got one a few years ago.

The caller said, “The quilt package that your husband bought from our local chain was insured for 10 years. Those 10 years are jut up, so you’ll get a quilt product for free.”

Then the caller made an appointment to come and deliver the product on condition that she signed a new contract.

When my wife told me about it later that day, I told her it was a scam, because I bought our down quilt on a business trip in Germany, not from a local chain.

I made sure that I was home when the delivery was to take place.

I was mostly curious about the caller’s story, but he never showed up.

It’s probably jut as well; I could have gotten myself in trouble.

H: That’s true.

The idea of confronting these fraudsters is attractive; I mean I hate con artists like that, especially those who prey on elderly.

But we don’t know who they are, or who they might be connected with.

They’re trying to rob people, so they’re unsavory by definition.

It’s probably best to just say “no thanks and goodbye” on the phone.

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Words and Expressions

confront: 立ち向かう

unsavory: （道徳的・社会的に）好ましくない

con artist: 詐欺師

****の箇所は、実際は [blank] （空白）と発音されています。「ピー音」で消される感じですね。

お疲れさまでした。お読み下さり、ありがとうございます♪