Visualising Deception: A Linguistic and Word Cloud Analysis of Malaysian Scam Discourse

This study examines the linguistic strategies employed by scammers in the context of the Malaysian Emas Lelong scam by using word cloud visualisation to reveal lexical patterns in deceptive communication. Drawing from a corpus of scammer-authored messages, six word cloud tools were used to surface frequent lexical items, highlighting the consistent use of relational address terms, transactional verbs, institutional references, and directive expressions. These patterns were analysed through the lenses of Speech Act Theory, Politeness Theory, Interpersonal Deception Theory, and Forensic Linguistics to uncover how scammers construct trust, simulate authority, and guide victim behaviour. The findings demonstrate that even surface-level frequency analysis can offer meaningful insights into scammer intent, especially when interpreted through linguistic frameworks. While word clouds lack syntactic and contextual depth, they remain valuable tools for exploratory linguistic profiling and public awareness. This study contributes to understanding how language functions as a vehicle for deception and suggests further integration of visual analysis with deeper linguistic and computational approaches.