EFE learning modules / Online Safety & Identifying Scams

Online Safety & Identifying Scams

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Smell a rat

/ስሜል ኤ ራት/

መጠራጠር

To suspect that something is wrong or dishonest.

አንድ ነገር ትክክል እንዳልሆነ ወይም ማጭበርበር እንደሆነ መጠርጠር።

In Practice

"I smelled a rat when the email asked for my password."
"If the offer seems too good, you might smell a rat."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone senses a potential scam or suspicious activity.

Too good to be true

/ቱ ጉድ ቱ ቢ ትሩ/

ለማመን የሚከብድ

Something that seems so great that it is likely a lie or scam.

በጣም ጥሩ ከመሆኑ የተነሳ እውነት የማይመስል ወይም ማጭበርበር ሊሆን የሚችል ነገር።

In Practice

"That free iPhone offer is too good to be true."
"Always be careful of deals that are too good to be true."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used to describe suspicious marketing or lottery scams.

Fishy

/ፊሺ/

አጠራጣሪ

Arousing feelings of doubt or suspicion.

ጥርጣሬን ወይም ጥርጣሬን የሚቀሰቅስ ሁኔታ።

In Practice

"This website layout looks a bit fishy."
"Something is fishy about this urgent request for money."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to say something seems dishonest.

Take the bait

/ቴይክ ዘ ቤይት/

በወጥመድ መያዝ

To fall for a trick or scam.

በትብት ወይም በማጭበርበሪያ ወጥመድ ውስጥ መውደቅ።

In Practice

"Don't take the bait and click that link."
"He took the bait and lost his account access."
Fluent Tip

Refers to reacting to a phishing attempt or lure.

Red flag

/ሬድ ፍላግ/

የማስጠንቀቂያ ምልክት

A warning sign of danger or a problem.

የአደጋ ወይም የችግር ማስጠንቀቂያ ምልክት።

In Practice

"Poor grammar in an official email is a major red flag."
"Asking for gift cards as payment is a red flag."
Fluent Tip

Used to point out specific signs of online scams.

Play it safe

/ፕሌይ ኢት ሴይፍ/

ጥንቃቄ ማድረግ

To avoid taking risks.

አደጋዎችን ለማስወገድ ጥንቃቄ ማድረግ።

In Practice

"I'll play it safe and use a password manager."
"It is better to play it safe and enable two-factor authentication."
Fluent Tip

Encouraging cautious behavior online.

Keep an eye out

/ኪፕ አን አይ አውት/

ነቅቶ መጠበቅ

To remain alert for potential danger or scams.

ሊከሰት ለሚችል አደጋ ወይም ማጭበርበር ነቅቶ መጠበቅ።

In Practice

"Keep an eye out for suspicious login attempts."
"We must keep an eye out for new phishing tactics."
Fluent Tip

Giving advice to be vigilant.

Out of the blue

/አውት ኦፍ ዘ ብሉ/

በድንገት

Something happening unexpectedly.

ባልተጠበቀ ሁኔታ የሚከሰት ነገር።

In Practice

"The scammer messaged me out of the blue."
"He received a prize notification out of the blue."
Fluent Tip

Describing unexpected contact from scammers.

On the radar

/ኦን ዘ ራዳር/

በትኩረት ስር ያለ

To be noticed or under consideration.

በትኩረት ውስጥ መሆን ወይም እየተከታተሉት መሆን።

In Practice

"These new cyber threats are now on the radar."
"Security experts have this scam on their radar."
Fluent Tip

Discussing known security threats.

Keep it under wraps

/ኪፕ ኢት አንደር ራፕስ/

በሚስጥር መያዝ

To keep something secret.

አንድን ነገር ሚስጥር አድርጎ መያዝ።

In Practice

"Keep your recovery codes under wraps."
"Passwords should always be kept under wraps."
Fluent Tip

Referring to personal privacy and security data.

In the loop

/ኢን ዘ ሉፕ/

መረጃ እንዲደርሰው ማድረግ

To be informed about something.

ስለ አንድ ነገር ወቅታዊ መረጃ እንዲኖረው ማድረግ።

In Practice

"Keep me in the loop about the new security updates."
"Are you in the loop regarding the latest phishing trends?"
Fluent Tip

Staying updated on safety protocols.

Behind someone's back

/ቢሀይንድ ሰምዋንስ ባክ/

ከሰው በስተጀርባ

Doing something without someone's knowledge.

ሰውየው ሳያውቅ ከጀርባው አንድን ነገር ማድረግ።

In Practice

"Malware can track your typing behind your back."
"Scammers often try to change settings behind your back."
Fluent Tip

Describing covert malicious activity.