Typy manipulacji językowych stosowanych w spamie

The aim of this paper is to present the types of manipulation used by spammers. Polish studies of linguistics have not made attempts at categorising this group of electronic mail to date and therefore this paper presents a new element of linguistic research on specific aspects of online communication. The knowledge of the presented typology could help separate the useful correspondence from malicious messages. Nine spam categories were distinguished: information about a bargain, alleged formalities to be completed, pretended continuation of a contact, fake job offers, fictitious personal advertisements, “private” messages, alarming messages, anticipation of suspicions, promises of financial profit. The source of the material was 150 e-mails, which were examined with the use of the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the contents of the messages.