139 followers
383 daily readers
rank of 11
Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:
|
|
|
WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
A Few Comments Worth Repeating
The following information is adapted from a few comments I recently wrote here at Writer's Notes about online fraud. These comments expanded on the info presented in one of my earlier posts on the topic. I've decided to turn them into a post in their own right, because I believe this information is critical for everyone who uses the internet and e-mail to know--and since writers often use online payment processing services, such as PayPal, we must be particularly aware that we don't get scammed. (Many--if not most--people don't tend to read all the comments on a blog post, which means that most Writer's Notes readers have not had the benefit of reading this information.)
How to Tell When You're On a Spoof Website
Once on a website, if you right-click the webpage you're on and then click "Properties," you'll learn two things:
First, you'll learn the actual URL of the website--regardless of what they may have done to hide or manipulate it to make it seem like another site. (Note: The PayPal site's "Properties" window shows that the site is in fact PayPal, because it shows the authentic PayPal URL.)
Second, you'll learn whether or not the internet connection to the site is encrypted. If it isn't encrypted, it's not a secure site and therefore cannot be the real PayPal website. (Try this by right-clicking this Writer's Notes webpage. You'll see the exact URL--in this case the URL to this particular blog post--and you'll also see that this site's connection is not encrypted.)
Aside from the "Properties" window, another way to tell whether you're on a secure site is that the lock icon will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the web page. This is the only lock-icon location that indicates a secure site. If this icon is found anywhere else on the page, it means nothing. (Of course, it's possible that it could be found elsewhere on the page in ADDITION to the status bar--which is in fact the case with PayPal. But, if it's found ONLY on the web page and NOT in the status bar, the site is not secure.)
Apparently, some online con artists remove the status bar entirely to prevent visitors from noticing that the lock icon is missing. They then place an image of a lock somewhere on the web page to give the site a false air of legitimacy and security.
These things are so important for writers--and others--to know!
How to Avoid Phishing E-Mails
These cyber scammers are becoming more sophisticated, and it's definitely becoming more and more difficult to tell that their e-mails and websites are not the "real deal." But, there are ways to tell, and we can only do our best to educate others, hopefully helping to prevent them from becoming the prey of such dishonest individuals.
We must always be on our guard wherever online financial transactions are concerned--and of course, whenever we receive any e-mail that claims to relate to any type of financial transaction. It's absolutely crucial never to click a link in an e-mail that claims that it will take you to a website where you'll be able to complete any sort of "secure" financial transaction or where you're expected to "update" your personal information. I always pass my cursor over the link to see where it would have taken me before I DON'T click on it! Even if it appears legit, I visit the site via my web browser, instead of by clicking the link. If it doesn’t appear legit, I avoid it like the plague—and you should, too.
How to Tell When You’re About to Be Redirected to Another Website
In the case of unfamiliar web addresses that you type into your browser or copy and paste there, if you'll pass your cursor briefly over the "Go" button or arrow before clicking, you'll be shown the web address that you'll actually be taken to if you click "Go." (I learned this quite by mistake one day. I'd never noticed it before.) This is extremely valuable in cases where clicking a certain URL is actually designed to redirect you to an entirely different web address, hiding the fact that you aren't actually going to the website that you think you are.
(In the case just mentioned, I had actually been redirected to a site which supposedly sold cheap cigarettes. Maybe it was legit; maybe not. But I can't help but wonder why they would have needed to masquerade as an affiliate tool website in order to force traffic to their site if they were indeed honest businesspeople.)
There are many tools at our disposal that can help us to avoid being the victims of online fraud. But, we need to be informed that they exist and how we can best use them to protect ourselves and our vital personal information.
But, of course, knowing isn't enough. If we want to protect ourselves from online fraud, we have to take that knowledge and use it!
Stay safe,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Any experiences to share? Any tips or tricks you know of for protecting ourselves from online fraud? We'd love to hear from you!
Please note: If the StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking buttons aren't visible, please click the "Add Comments" link beneath this post. Thanks!
Fraudulent E-Mail Received Today
Here's the latest fraudulent "PayPal" e-mail I've received. This e-mail shows one of the most recent schemes used by scammers to steal our identities and our money!
In particular, note the following:
~The blank "to" line
~The generic greeting of "Dear PayPal Member," instead of PayPal's usual "Dear Jeanne Dininni"
~The "encrypted" link. This link is supposedly encrypted to protect me--but in reality, it's encrypted so I won't realize that the link doesn't take me to the real PayPal website!
~The sly psychological tactic used to get me to click the link:
Note:
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction
and get full refund
~The scammer's clever attempt at gaining my confidence by including a description of the high-level encryption technique supposedly used to protect my confidential information
The Spoof Message
fromPayPal < dispute@paypal.com >*
reply-toservice@paypal.com,
to
dateDec 5, 2007 12:29 AM
subjectThanks for using your bank account!
hide details 12:29 AM (10 hours ago) Reply
Dear PayPal Member,
This email confirms that you have sent an eBay payment of $47.85 USD to
[undisclosed]@yahoo.com for an eBay item.
----------------------------- ------
Payment Details
----------------------------- ------
Amount: $47.85 USD
Transaction ID: 2LC956793J776333Y
Subject: Digimax 130
Note:
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction
and get full refund
Dispute transaction (Encrypted Link )
*SSL connection:
PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information
in transit from your computer to ours using the Secure
Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length
of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available)
----------------------------- ------
Item Information
----------------------------- ------
eBay User ID: scratchandgnaw2
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
Edward Harrell's UNCONFIRMED Address
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
Edward Harrell
211 David St.
Springtown, TX 76082
United States
Important Note: Edward Harrell has provided an Unconfirmed Address. If
you are planning on shipping items to Edward Harrell, please check the
Transaction Details page of this payment to find out whether you will
be covered by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy.
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
This payment was sent using your bank account.
By using your bank account to send money, you just:
- Paid easily and securely
- Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks
- Paid instantly -- your purchase won't show up on bills at the end of
the month.
Thanks for using your bank account!
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
PayPal Email ID PP118
Forewarned Is Forearmed!
Beware! These scammers are all around us, and they are continuously dreaming up new schemes to fool us into giving away our critical personal information! Don't fall for their lies--or into their clutches! Read every official-looking e-mail very carefully and critically. If anything seems odd, don't respond! If the e-mail claims to be from PayPal, forward it to spoof@paypal.com. Forward other e-mails to the company they claim to have come from. Protect yourself! Don't let e-mail fraud catch you unawares!
To your safety,
Jeanne
* NOTE: I had to modify the formatting of this e-mail address to prevent Orble's software from turning the (opening) "<" and "d" into a smiley face icon. (This is why I've placed a space after the [opening] "<". For balance, I've also placed a corresponding space before the [closing] ">".)
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything new? Have any stories to share? Please feel free to comment!
Another Attempt at Identity--Or Money--Theft via E-Mail
I received yet another fraudulent, or phishing, e-mail a few days ago that I thought I'd share with you to help you avoid being taken advantage of, as well as to expose the unscrupulous individuals who engage in these illegal internet activities. (I seriously entertained the thought of leaving the return e-mail address in but decided that that would be irresponsible on my part, since it could cause problems for anyone who might decide to send these con artists an e-mail; so I've instead reproduced their e-mail address as "[undisclosed]mail.com.")
An Unbelievably Poor Attempt at Separating Me from My Money
The text of the blatantly phishing-oriented e-mail follows:
From International Paying Bank ipbn2008@[undisclosed]mail.com Nov 9 (3 days ago)
reply-to ipbn2006@[undisclosed]mail.com,
to
date Nov 9, 2007 1:46 PM
subject CHEQUE REMITTANCE RESPONSE REQUIRED!!!
ATTN:
With reference to your yet to be transferred inheritance funds in the
STB/ETB Banks in Lagos, after due consideration of the fact that you had
not been able to claim your rightful inheritance which from our datas
gotten from the Central Bank of Nigeria is $750,000 an inheritance claim
before the end of the last quarter of the year 2005, the Federal Ministry
of Finance has decided that all beneficiaries who have not fulfilled all
paperwork request for the
release of his/her inheritance funds to his/her nominated account,
should be transferred to the International Paying Bank of Nigeria.
The IPBN has been advised to pay you instalmentally,through NATWEST
BANK UK PLC starting with the sum of $250,000.00 (TWO HUNDRED AND
FIFY THOUSAND US Dollars) strictly by certified cheque , which will be
debited from the Government's foriegn account with NatWest bank UK
clearable every 3month after drawn airmarked for payment in the Fourth
quarter of 2007.
The cheque will be sent to the contact address you will provide to us.
The check will be sent to you via our official courier,FEDEX, to your
designated contact address . As soon as we receive your response: a
confirmation that you have received this message and you are willing to
receive the cheque, the cheque will be sent to your contact address. We
will require the following information from you to prepare the cheque
immediately in your name:
Beneficiary Full Name:
Contact ADDRESS :
Telephone Number:
Your response will be highly appreciated.
Best Regards,
Mrs Martha Kartaka
Depty. Remittance Director
E-MAIL: ipbn2006@[undisclosed]mail.com
International Paying Bank[IPBN] [SUBSIDIARY OF THE CBN]
When Greed Overcomes Common Sense, Potential Victims Benefit
The one good thing about most of the individuals who engage in this sort of identity-theft attempt is that they seem to be totally oblivious to some of the more ridiculous aspects of their scams, such as the following:
1. If they were writing to inform me of a legitimate inheritance that awaited me at their bank, they would most certainly know my name! The fact that they not only don't address me by name (see blank "ATTN" line), but that the e-mail isn't even addressed to me (see blank "to" line [more on this later]--and to a slightly lesser extent, the fact that they ask for my name along with the rest of my contact info near the bottom of the e-mail--are a dead giveaway that this e-mail is a scam, and a very poorly conceived one, at that.
2. As mentioned in point #1, the e-mail is not only not addressed to me, but the "to" line is completely blank. These people weren't even sophisticated enough to attempt to hide the fact that this e-mail was likely sent to an entire list of hidden e-mail addresses via BCCs (Blind Carbon Copies). More savvy fraudsters generally put an e-mail address in the "to" line as a cover, to lend the e-mail an air of legitimacy --though this is still a dead giveaway to those alert enough to notice that someone else's e-mail address is in the "to" line and who know that this isn't just an innocent mistake but a clue that fraud is the intent of the e-mail.
3. Not only is the e-mail atrociously written--note particularly the word "airmarked," which should be "earmarked"--but its formatting is also horrendous. This highly unprofessional--and equally embarrassing--presentation is a real indicator that the e-mail did not come from a legitimate banking entity.
4. It's extremely doubtful that any bank which had a $750,000 inheritance to deliver to me would ever contact me via e-mail. (That idea is actually almost laughable.) In fact, it's highly doubtful that the bank would contact me at all. I'd far more likely receive a letter from a legitimate law firm via snail mail--or perhaps international air mail, if from another country.
May Many Other Con Artists Follow their "Shining" Example!
No doubt there are other clues to the illegitimacy of this e-mail which I haven't had time to delve into yet. But these four certainly suffice to warn potential victims of the true nature of this message and others like it. Thankfully, these aspiring fraudsters have shot themselves in the foot in more ways than one with their sorry excuse for a scam. And we can only hope that many more e-mail con artists will follow in their footsteps and do as bad a job at phishing as they have done in attempting to hook their victims!
Don't Let Down Your Guard! Protect Your Identity--and Your Money!
Yet, the fact that many--if not most--scammers are very poor at what they do is not a good reason to let down your guard. Stay alert! Watch out for those unscrupulous individuals who seek every opportunity they can find or create to steal your identity so they can part you and your money! They are everywhere--and they aren't likely to give up any time soon!
We writers--along with many others--work very hard for our money; and we don't do it so we can give it away to those who have nothing better to do all day than sit around thinking up ways to steal other people's money!
Keep your identity--and your money--safe!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything? Have any insights to share? Please comment!
Problems With My PayPal Account?
A few days ago, I received a very official-sounding e-mail informing me that there were some problems with my PayPal account. Being the analytical type, I read it very carefully, and, while it was quite expertly written--and contained neither the spelling nor grammatical errors usually found in phishing e-mails--something about it didn't seem right, from the very beginning. And the more I read, the more I knew something wasn't right. I've reproduced the e-mail below. See whether you can figure out what's wrong with it--or what could possibly be wrong with it, based on whether or not certain actions had actually occurred. (There are several clues that this e-mail is not legit.)
From: Service PayPal <name@emailnet.com>
Date: Oct ##, #### #:## PM
Subject: Message from support, please Confirm your information!
To: othername@email.com
Dear PayPal Member,
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the
PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your
account.We requested information from you for the following reason:
We recently received a report of unauthorized credit card use
associated with this account. As a precaution, we have limited access to your
PayPal account in order to protect against future unauthorized
transactions.
Case ID Number: PP-###-###-###
This is a reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible.
Be sure to log in securely by opening a new browser window and typing
the PayPal URL. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to
restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to
ensure account safety.
Click here to restore your account access. [NOTE: Link deactivated. Basic URL formatting follows, but with extra spaces added to avoid creating an actual, albeit non-functional, link: "http:// ###.###.###.## / libsh.so / paypal / login.htm"]
In accordance with PayPal's User Agreement, your account access will
remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if
access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it
may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We
encourage you to log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible to help
avoid this.
To review your account and some or all of the information that PayPal
used to make its decision to limit your account access, please visit the
Resolution Center. If, after reviewing your account information, you
seek further clarification regarding your account access, please contact
PayPal by visiting the Help Center and clicking "Contact Us".
We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please
understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your
account. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ------
PayPal Email ID PP###
What's Wrong With this E-Mail?
1. First of all, while it says that it's from "Service PayPal," the e-mail address isn't a PayPal e-mail address. (You won't always be able to go by this, however, since there are ways of making the e-mail address appear legit.) In this case, though, the e-mail address was a dead giveaway once I examined it. So, do pay attention to the e-mail address, since it can be one way of recognizing a phishing e-mail. (Notice, also, that the "From" e-mail address is in a pale gray font that doesn't really stand out, which they hoped would prevent me from noticing it.)
The e-mail also isn't addressed to me--a safe bet that it was sent to a "cover" e-mail address and "BCC'd"--distributed via Blind Carbon Copies, a practice which hides the copy recipients' e-mail addresses--to a group of different people at the same time. (Sounds exactly like a mass phishing expedition, to me.)
2. Next, the e-mail claims that the company has contacted me about an issue with my account and requested information from me about the matter. As you might well imagine, I was never actually contacted about any such matter. (I suppose they were hoping that, though I would realize that I hadn't had any previous contact about this matter, I would be very eager to clarify that fact, as well as to straighten out the "issue on my account" by contacting "PayPal" immediately.)
3. You'll notice that this particular phisherman actually cleverly advises me to be sure to "log in securely by opening a new browser window and typing the PayPal URL." This makes him sound very official and totally legit. Yet, after a few more reassuring sentences about how my account access will be restored and how they're working to ensure the safety of my account, the very next thing he does is provide a convenient link whereby I can "Click here to restore (my) account access." (He hopes that, by this time, he's built my trust sufficiently to actually get me to click the link--which, by the way, would not have taken me to the PayPal site.)
The next paragraph then very subtly tries to pressure me into acting now--before I've had a chance to give the matter sufficient thought--by threatening continued limitation of account access and eventual account closure.
4. Another clever move this individual makes is to deftly disguise the website URL, making it appear to be the PayPal login page. When I passed my cursor over the link to check it out, I saw that the URL consisted of an IP address made up of a series of numbers followed by "/(subdomain).so/paypal/login .htm". (Again, you won't always be able to tell this way, since there are apparently some rather sophisticated methods of making a website URL appear to belong to a site other than the one it actually belongs to.) But, in this case, I could see that the real domain was represented by the series of numbers, which, of course, I would have no way of recognizing. This person has likely done nothing more than name one or more pages on his website "paypal/login.htm"
This e-mail manages to match the business-like tone of a legitimate e-mail one might receive from PayPal, one's bank, or any other financial institution. This is what makes it so potentially dangerous. And this is why you need to be extremely careful to check such e-mails closely, rather than mindlessly following their instructions.
What Did I Do?
The first thing I did was log into my PayPal account (via my web browser rather than the link found in the e-mail) and check to see whether there was in fact any kind of hold on my account. And, guess what? No hold.
Next, I tracked down an e-mail address for PayPal that I could use to forward the fraudulent e-mail to the company. (This is one time I was glad I save and archive my e-mail.) It turned out that I had an e-mail from PayPal which discussed "spoof e-mail addresses" and "spoof websites." So I forwarded the e-mail to spoof@paypal.com, and this is the reply I received:
Dear Jeanne Dininni,
Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking emails.
The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security team
is working to disable it.
-------------------------
What is a phishing email?
-------------------------
Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you to
reveal your password or other personal or financial information. PayPal
will never ask for your password over the phone or in an email and will
always address you by your first and last name.
Take our Fight Phishing Challenge at
Really Long Link to learn 5 things you should know
about phishing. You'll also see what we're doing to help fight fraud
every day.
-------------------------
You've made a difference.
-------------------------
Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to
spoof@paypal.com, you've helped keep yourself and others safe from
identity theft.
Thanks,
The PayPal Team
What Should You Do?
First, you should take the Fight Phishing Challenge at PayPal. This is a five-question quiz that will test your knowledge of the subject, helping you learn some facts about phishing that can help you protect yourself. (Note: You won't need to log in to PayPal to access this quiz; so, even if you don't have a PayPal account, you'll be able to take the quiz and learn how to better protect yourself from online fraud.)
Next, you should read the following article to learn more about how to recognize spoof websites and find out how to further protect yourself from the fraudulent practice known as phishing: What is a "spoof site", what is "phishing" and why do I need to know about this stuff? (This article was posted back in 2004 but still contains extremely helpful information that goes deeper into the topic than I have here.) I should point out that this is an anti-PayPal site; but the information it contains about protecting yourself against online fraud is invaluable. (You'll also find an article on spyware here, which I haven't yet read, but which could also prove helpful.)
Then, you should be very alert and cautious whenever you receive an e-mail purporting to be from PayPal, your bank, or any other financial institution or website. Pore over it with a fine-toothed comb, looking for clues that would either confirm or deny its authenticity. Never click a link in an e-mail to get to a website where you need to perform a secure monetary transaction. Always use your web browser and preferably type in the URL yourself. (If you use the drop-down box beneath your browser window, confirm that the URL is correct before clicking it.)
Finally, you should report any such phishing e-mails to the company from which they claim to have come. Fraudulent PayPal e-mails may be sent to spoof@paypal.com. (Other reporting websites are listed in the article linked to above.)
Freelance writers often use PayPal to collect payment for their work. If this is one of your payment methods, be especially careful. Don't be the unwitting victim of one of these malicious phishing expeditions! Protect your information! (Remember: PayPal will never ask you for your password, Social Security number, credit card number, bank account details, or any other personal information in an e-mail [or during a phone call].) Be absolutely certain that you are on the legitimate--and therefore secure--PayPal website before revealing any of this information!
Also note that the individual who sent me the fraudulent "PayPal" e-mail didn't know my name. PayPal's legitimate e-mails always address me by name--though addressing me by name is not in itself proof that the e-mail is legitimate. It's always possible that a given internet scam artist has somehow managed to get hold of a potential victim's name--particularly if that potential victim happens to be someone who is rather high-profile, such as a blogger. So, beware! Check the e-mail for other clues, and if in doubt, don't respond to it.
Knowledge is power. Learn how to protect yourself from internet fraud!
Cautiously yours,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything? Have anything to add? Feel free to comment!
Many Thanks for Your Feedback!
I'd like to thank everyone for all your excellent feedback on feed-reading. It's been very helpful! You've given me some great ideas that will help make my feed management easier and more productive; and hopefully your comments have been helpful to other readers, who may have been experiencing some of the same issues, as well.
Feed Readers: Tools to Make Our Lives Easier
Feed reading is really a very convenient way to "visit" the blogs we enjoy--without having to surf all over the internet to find them. Having them all in one place is a great feature. When we look at feed readers as tools to help make our lives easier, we won't feel enslaved to them, but will use them in the ways that prove most helpful to us. If that means deleting posts that we haven't had time to read, so be it. If it means deleting entire blogs that we never read, we shouldn't feel guilty about doing so. The feed reader is there for us, after all.
Feed Readers and E-Mail: Both Benefit from Labelling
I still haven't tried labels in my feed reader, yet, but will do so as soon as I can find the time. Lately, I've been concentrating my energy and effort on labelling my e-mails in G-mail. I'd never used this feature before, and so organizing my saved e-mails has been pretty time-consuming. Just as my feed reader has become overrun with posts, my e-mail account has become overloaded with e-mails. Using my account for writing-related queries and submissions, church writing projects, and miscellaneous blog-related activities--in addition to everything else--has caused my inbox to be fairly inundated with mail; therefore, e-mail labelling was my area of concentration yesterday.
Labelling: A Big Job Once E-Mails Get Out of Hand!
So far I've only completed the e-mails that were in my inbox--though I spent a good part of the day doing it. (I told you my inbox was overloaded!) I have yet to tackle the ones in the archives. Since so many of my e-mails are writing-related, I really need to keep accurate records of my online correspondence, so I wouldn't want to delete those; though I'm sure there are some individual e-mails--and no doubt entire categories, as well--that I could probably live without. I'll have to give that a bit more thought.
Clear Out Your Inbox By Labelling and Archiving
I'd definitely like to begin keeping the number of messages in my inbox down to a manageable level, and I think labelling and archiving will help me do this--though I realize that I do need to rethink which e-mails I really need to save, as my archives continue to grow. All I can say is that it's a good thing G-mail offers close to 3,000 MB of storage. It's hard to believe, though, that with all the e-mails I've got archived, I'm only using 3% of that space! (This makes me realize that G-mail gives me plenty of space for letting things get out of hand--or should I say "plenty of rope to hang myself"?) So I'm the one who needs to decide when enough is enough--because G-mail certainly won't do it for me! (When G-mail was first launched, it offered 2,500 MB of storage space, and that amount has grown daily, until now it's over 2,900 MB!)
Minimize Archived E-Mails: Print/Delete Some of Them
One thing I've begun doing to get rid of excess e-mail is printing out the e-mails received from family members and then deleting them. This way, I have hard copies which I can keep, just as I would if a family member had sent me a letter via snail mail. This works well for me, since I generally bring them over to my mom's house to read them to her and share the latest family news.
I print out other select categories of e-mail, as well. This does, of course, use up more printer ink--not to mention paper--but that's simply the price one must pay for the added convenience of the practice. (No doubt most of us have quite a few e-mails we could simply delete--without printing--and we wouldn't really miss them. We all need to decide for ourselves which ones those are.)
What Are Your E-Mail Practices, Tips, or Techniques?
How do you handle your e-mail? Have you been able to tame the e-mail monster, or are you becoming buried in electronic messages? Are you an e-mail pack rat, or do you ruthlessly delete all but the most crucial communications? If you have any e-mail management tips or techniques you'd like to share with the rest of us, we're all ears!
RSS Feeds and E-Mail: Both Require Organization!
RSS feeds and e-mail accounts--with their many, many blog posts and e-mail messages--are formidable opponents. Yet, my plan is to vanquish both through organization! I fully intend to tame the RSS feed and e-mail monsters one way or another! How about you?
Eager for your input,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything? Have any tips to share? Please feel free to comment!
Words: The Tools of Our Trade
We writers have an almost endless array of words from which to choose in crafting our written works. And, for the most part, we have an amazing degree of latitude in our choice of which of the terms from our (hopefully) wide vocabulary we will use in any given piece.
The problem lies in the inability of many to distinguish between those words in our immense communal bag of literary tricks which bear removing and using often and those which should be seldom used and would, in fact, very likely best be left sitting in the bottom of the bag, conveniently forgotten and undisturbed.
Write With Precision!
There are so many wonderful words which brilliantly advance our themes, expressing our thoughts with precision, painting pleasing (or at least appropriate) literary pictures in our readers' minds, beautifully clarifying our topics, and effectively allowing those who approach our works to grasp the thread of our argument, the gist of our explanation, or the heart of our story--and which do so without unduly and unnecessarily distracting the reader from our topic and forcing him or her to focus, instead, on our annoying word choice.
Don't Sacrifice Your Credibility
One term which I, personally, find extremely distracting and the use of which, in any kind of serious writing, in my view, immensely detracts from a writer's credibility--one of my literary pet peeves, in fact--is the word "sucks" when it is used in its slang form, to mean "is terrible or inferior." I would even venture to say that this use of the word in any type of serious writing and/or in any professional context is itself terrible and inferior--at least to me. (And, no, I won't use the term itself to describe its use.)
Writing Requires Craftsmanship!
I must be honest in saying that, as a writer who takes my craft very seriously--and as a reader who takes my avocation every bit as seriously--whenever I encounter this use of the word in a written work which is non-casual and is intended to be taken seriously from either a literary or a professional standpoint, my critical assessment of the writer (or at least of the writer's craftsmanship/good judgment) instantly drops a few notches.
Don't Drive Your Readers Away!
In fact, to be totally honest, it would take nothing short of a literary miracle to keep me reading beyond that point in a formal, official, literary, or professional piece. (Aside from excessive or extremely vulgar profanity, the use of this irritating term in a professionally written piece is one of the quickest ways for an author to lose this reader in mid-sentence, sending me on my merry way to look for greener literary pastures.)
Write With Purpose, Write On Purpose
I realize that today's younger adults have grown up hearing--and using--this term and it has become almost second nature to many of them. I realize, too, that, as the saying goes, "Old habits die hard." But, if you take away anything at all from this post, let it be this: To write effectively, you must not only write with purpose, you must also write on purpose. If you would truly communicate with your reader and capture his or her attention and interest--and hold it--you must choose your words carefully, targeting them to your audience, your topic, and your venue, and cutting out any terminology which has the potential to alienate your audience and thereby defeat your literary objective.
Is Alienation Your Intention?
(Of course, for some of you, your objective might actually be to alienate your audience--or a portion of it--in which case I would only say that this word should suit your purpose nicely. But this type of writing would not generally tend to fall under the purview of serious literary or professional writing, which is the kind we are discussing.)
So, please think twice about the terms you use in your writing--for your reader's sake--as well as your own! Don't give your reader a reason to stop reading and seek more suitable or appropriate content elsewhere.
Slang: When In Doubt, Leave it Out!
Slang can often be used very effectively; but only if it is used with discretion, if it is not overused, and if the slang terms chosen do not irritate, or lower your credibility with your reader, causing him or her to lose respect for you either as a communicator or as an authority on your subject--or worse yet, both.
Where slang is concerned, the recommended rule of thumb is, When in doubt, leave it out! It simply isn't worth the risk. Alienating your audience over such an unnecessary and easily correctible problem, would be very unwise. After all, it can be hard enough to hold our readers' attention even without throwing such literary stumbling blocks into their path. So, why would we ever want to do that?
May you always write effectively!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
|
|
|
Comments (6)
Add Comments