Identity construction of suspects in telecom and internet fraud discourse: from a sociosemiotic perspective

ABSTRACT

As a new kind of contactless crime, the telecom and internet fraud has become a public hazard, with criminals targeting massive numbers of innocent victims. It is a prominent criminal problem that currently affects social stability and the sense of security of the public. Since the six Ministries and Commissions jointly cracked down the crime in 2016, the number of cases and the number of people deceived have decreased, but the occurrence and frequency has still been at a high rate, and the situation is deteriorating. Regardless of the scientific and technological means used by fraudsters, the main medium is language. From a sociosemiotic perspective, this study identifies that the criminal suspects use the discourse resources to fabricate false information and construct false identities through discursive practice, with the aim of achieving the communicative purpose of obtaining victims’ trust, tricking, deceiving and manipulating their victims into giving out confidential information and funds. This study, taking telecom fraud discourse as one type of genre, examines the dynamic process of selecting and constructing identities by manipulating related discourse resources and strategies in the social-cultural context. This study further provides a sociosemiotic solution to telecom fraud prevention.     

“冒充公检法”诈骗中犯罪嫌疑人的身份建构：社会符号学视角

电信网络诈骗是一种非接触式犯罪,无论犯罪嫌疑人采用什么样的科技手段,主要的媒介是语言。社会符号学强调符号在社会行动和交际中的功能。犯罪嫌疑人调用相关话语资源与语言策略对身份进行选择与建构的动态过程,是符号在语境再构下的解释和再解释过程。在“冒充公检法”类诈骗中,犯罪嫌疑人运用语类模板中的话语资源编造虚假信息,构建虚拟语境,通过话语实践确立虚假身份,利用话语策略实现不同身份的多元转换。在话语交际过程中,犯罪嫌疑人一方面限制受话人对话语资源的权力与控制,另一方面拓展对话空间加强与受话人之间的协商与互动,将目标身份通过语言符号经由对方建构,在确立自身的“机构代表身份”和受话人的“违法者身份”后,达到获取受话人信任、骗取钱财的交际目的。     

中国网络治理的社会符号学阐释

网络治理是一项复杂系统的社会工程,符号学因其系统性可为网络治理构建和完善提供学理支撑。网络治理和网络空间作为社会符号具有时空性和社会性,其意义会随着历史的变迁和解释主体的不同而变化,主要受历史条件、网络治理实践和国家利益等语境因素的制约。网络空间命运共同体和网络主权是中国网络治理符号系统的重要组成部分,要不断推动其从价值独特性符号向价值共识性符号的转变,即既保持中国特色,又获得国际社会的普遍共识。此外,结合马克思主义哲学理论,中国网络治理具有时代性、人民性、科学性、实践性和全球性,是马克思主义在网络空间治理领域的中国实践,是历史符号在新时代的全新阐释。     

A Sociosemiotic Interpretation of Legal Terms——A Case Study on “Ordinary Residence”

Legal terms are usually regarded as a type of closed discourse; that is, they can exist independently without the need of resorting to other external texts. This study, via an empirical analysis of the of "ordinary residence" in the cases of foreign domestic helpers in HK as well as a discussion of other relevant cases, examines the construction, destruction and reconstruction of legal terms, and therefore unravels the temporal and spatial characteristics in the birth and evolution of legal terms. The construction of the sense of a certain legal term is of social nature, and an established sense may be deconstructed with the social development and change, which is another round of construction, and hence reconstruction. Legal Interpretation is not purely the application of approaches to interpretation but the process and product of dialogue among different social actors. This study shows that sociosemiotics can provide a strong research value in theory and interpretive force in practice to examine legal interpretation and legal methodology.