2020-05-08
10 分钟Hi there, this is Harry, and welcome back to my podcast where I try to help you to get a better understanding of English through the use of grammar, idioms, phrasal verbs and other expressions.
So what do I have for you now?
Well, in this particular podcast, we're going to take a look at some expressions in relation to crime, okay?
So in particular, we're going to look at phrasal verbs connected with crime, and in particular, we're going to focus on scams.
Okay, so what is a scam?
Well, spelt scam, and we pronounce it scam.
Okay, scam.
And a scam is when somebody tries to get money from you without giving you anything in return.
They tried to steal your money by some deception, okay?
Offering you some product online perhaps, but you never get the product.
It never exists, but you pay the money.
So it's referred to as a scam.
Okay, so let's look at some phrasal verbs connected with that.
So first, to prey on or to prey upon somebody, okay?
So to pray on somebody means to take advantage of that person, to prey on the unsuspecting, to prey on the most needy in society.
I saw a scam announced on the radio last night where somebody was trying to get the german government to buy face masks.
They didn't exist, but they tried to get the money.
So they preyed on the need of the german government to purchase masks for their population.
So they preyed on, or preyed upon them, and this was how the scam was uncovered.
Thankfully, they didn't get away with the money.