シャドーイング練習: Furry Scams Are Getting WAY Too Good - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ
レッスンを作成中...
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Furries love spending money.
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Art commissions, conventions, fursuits, VR chat avatars.
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We have endless ways to throw money at this fandom.
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Unfortunately, scammers know that too.
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And lately, I've seen some incredibly sophisticated ones.
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Hack sends sending malware, people impersonating artists and faking sketches, and scammers turning creators into money mules.
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So today, let's talk about the scams I'm seeing in the furry fandom right now and how you can avoid them.
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About a month ago, I actually fell for one of these scams.
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There was a furry artist YCH that I'd been eyeing, so I decided to place the opening bid.
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There hadn't been any other activity on it, and about two days later, I got a message on Telegram from who I thought was the artist.
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And everything seemed completely normal.
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They asked for my reference sheet.
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They asked if I had any special request.
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We talked about the commission like you would any other artist.
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And then they sent me a rough sketch of my Sona in the YCH's pose.
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I told them it looked good, asked them where I could send the payment, and forwarded the funds.
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And then, nothing.
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Three days later, I checked on the original YCH and saw that somebody had actually outbid me.
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I went back to Telegram, and the account I had been talking to was gone.
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I had paid an impersonator.
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They had used AI trained off the artist's style to impersonate them, and then sent me an AI-generated sketch that I had missed.
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Since the Telegram account was deleted, the evidence I would have wanted for a PayPal dispute was gone.
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I contacted the real artist and they told me that someone had been impersonating them for a while.
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Then I realized there was literally a warning about the impersonator on their fur affinity profile.
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I just hadn't seen it as it wasn't mentioned on the YCH post.
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So a general rule of thumb, always reach out to the artist on the original platform.
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Don't respond to targeted DMs.
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This is why I really like Vigen.
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You can see an artist reviews and commission history.
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There's active cues to see if it's small.
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There's an actual verification process for artists.
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And the platform is very clearly anti-AI and continues to build tools around protecting artists.
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It also gives buyers more protection than just sending money through a random DM.
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With things like delivery deadlines and payment protections.
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It's not fully scan proof.
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but I feel a lot safer commissioning someone through Vigen than through a random Twitter, Discord, or Telegram message.
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And hey, while you're busy checking out Vigen, please take a moment to subscribe to my channel if you enjoy hearing this furry yap on the internet.
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Okay, this next scam has been hitting my friends on Discord pretty hard.
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Two, er, actually three of my friends now have fallen for it.
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And in one case, the scammer even got into an account that had two-factor authentication enabled.
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The setup is usually something like, hey, I made a game.
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Can you come test it?
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Or hey, can we watch anime in this app?
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Check out lobby number two.
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Not hey, check it out whenever you want to.
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They want you clicking before you stop to think.
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If someone sends you a game or program, especially an executable file like an exe, please don't run it right away.
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Be cautious with unfamiliar download links such as Mediafire or other unfamiliar websites.
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And if you really need to inspect the file, you can scan it with something like VirusTotal online.
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Just remember, even a clean scan doesn't guarantee a file is safe, especially if the malware is new.
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And while more technical users can investigate suspicious files with a virtual machine,
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for most people, the safest option is simply not to run it and don't even download it.
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If the file is from a link they wouldn't use, avoid it.
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And even then, be careful with familiar websites.
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Just be safe and always wonder why is this person sending me something?
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All right this next one is a little bit crazy because
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when we think of scammers we usually think about us sending money to them
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but in this case the scammer wanted to put money into the artist account.
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One of my artist friends had someone repeatedly offered to work
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together by bringing people to their patreon then splitting the money after a withdrawal.
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When my friend said it sounded like a scam they replied
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i don't want any upfront money from you you'll see members you will see money then only you will withdraw and split
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and then the scammer tried to prove it my friend received
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a random 300 ko-fi donation from a completely different account
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which the scammer basically used to justify see i can bring
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people to you you just give me half of what we
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make the scammer is using a stolen account's money to earn your trust
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if those donations or memberships are coming from a fraudulent or compromised payments, which they are, they can later be reversed or charged back,
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potentially after you've already sent the scammer they're halved.
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So if this happens to you, don't touch the money.
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Save screenshots, contact the platform support or fraud team, and do not forward the money somewhere else.
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Nobody legitimate needs your Patreon or Ko-Fi accounts to act as a middleman.
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In general, just don't spend money you get online for a little bit
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because people can always gift subs or give donations and then charge it back later.
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So I recommend waiting about a month personally.
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This next one, I feel like we've all heard of.
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We've all seen the fake Timu fursuits, Etsy listings, and Instagram posts.
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Oftentimes you'll see an amazing looking fursuit for $800.
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And the tough thing is, some of these fursuits are in fact legitimate.
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Oftentimes these are overseas makers or newer makers that are making quality suits and have yet to raise their prices.
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But there are a lot of fake fursuit makers out there.
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Some of these I've seen on Instagram can reach over 20,000 followers on the platform.
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How do they get that following?
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By saving images of other people's suits and stitching together shorts and stolen videos to make it seem like they're legitimate.
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In some instances, there are fursuit makers that aren't on a platform yet.
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So a scammer might swoop in and start posting all of their stuff to emulate the maker themselves.
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If you're an artist, please create and post on accounts on most social media platforms
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or at least have an account to identify yourself as the official one
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so you don't have scammers imitating you and people can find you.
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Another example, I noticed an Instagram maker posted a very good-looking brown fursuit.
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However, I recognize this suit.
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This is a color-shifted suit of fellow content creator Pranzo.
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I suspect we'll see more AI edits in Photoshop's pre-existing suits to appear to be original fursuits, so you got to keep an eye out for that too.
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Ask other people how their experience was with a maker before commissioning them.
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Websites like Fursuit Reviews can also be helpful.
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Some makers, like my fursuit maker, Firmity, have unofficial telegrams for the existing suitors.
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You may be able to ask around to see if you could be added to a group chat to ask these questions.
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These are expensive thousands of dollar purchases sometimes.
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So make sure you are completely confident before you buy a fursuit.
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If someone is rushing you to buy it, there's a good chance you're going to be scammed.
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Just the general tip right there.
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So keep an eye out for stolen fursuit portfolios and too good to be true offers along with unverified fursuit makers.
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Always ask others about their experience before you buy one.
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For example, look at this Reddit thread here.
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I found someone commented on r slash furry asking for advice on fursuit makers.
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And this person posted this fursuit here of the Pranzo suit.
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You got to be careful even with Reddit comments nowadays. Be safe.
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Unintentional scams.
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Not every bad commission is intentionally a scam.
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It could just be that somebody is very bad at business.
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And one of the biggest risks is an artist or maker taking on a cue that becomes completely unmanageable.
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Once you've paid someone hundreds or even thousands of dollars, a lot can happen while you wait.
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One of the most infamous examples of this is Fur The Wind Studios.
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They were an established maker starting around 2011 with a long history of making fursuits.
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But eventually, their queue completely ballooned out of control.
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In 2022, one fursuit review customer described them as having an open queue that never closed for commissions,
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with more than 50 people waiting ahead of them.
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And these weren't just people putting their names on a free waitlist.
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Customers were actually paying into their commissions before work began.
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One reviewer said that after their first payment, communication largely stopped while they waited to find out when their suit would even be started.
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And this is why massive prepaid queues scare me.
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I'm not saying a long queue automatically makes somebody a scammer, but if somebody is taking thousands of dollars for a fursuit they may not even start working on for years,
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you're taking a huge amount of risk.
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People get sick, businesses fail, people leave the fandom, and unfortunately, sometimes people pass away.
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I don't even know if I'll still be in the fandom six years from now.
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And in 2025, Fur The Wind Studios closed.
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Customers reported that the business had gone bankrupt, including people who were still waiting on unfinished commissions after years.
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So here's my personal rules.
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I want to see the queue before I pay.
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Platforms like Vigen are great because you can actually see an artist's work queue.
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Other artists use Trello.
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If I can see somebody consistently completing work and moving through their queue, I'm way more comfortable giving them money.
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If they don't have a public queue, I'll usually ask, hey, where am I in the queue?
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For normal art, if somebody wants payment and they're more than four months away from starting, personally, I'm out.
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Unless it's an incredible artist I've dreamed of working with.
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Otherwise, I'd rather they put my name in the queue and let me pay when they're actually ready to start.
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You could always ask an artist, you know?
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Fursuits are obviously different as they take much longer, but even then, I personally don't want to wait multiple years.
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With my own fursuit, my maker, Furmini, gave me a clear estimate.
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I could see that they were actively completing suits.
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And my wait was around eight months is what they told me.
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That's what I want to see.
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Not just a cue, but a cue that's actually moving.
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How to protect yourself.
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Through the course of this video, we've seen different ways we can get scammed, but let's summarize how you can protect yourself.
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First, if somebody is telling you to pay now, act immediately, or threatening you with something like, the FBI is coming to your door.
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Slow down.
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Take a deep breath.
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The whole point of urgency is to get you to act before you can verify.
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So your brain begins to panic.
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If they claim to be law enforcement, for example, or recently in my case, the IRS or the New York State Tax Authority, for whatever reason, your bank,
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VGen, PayPal, or whatever, go find the real organization yourself and contact them independently.
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Also, I think it's important to have a non-emergency police number on your phone.
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If someone's threatening the FBI or police, just call them real quick on the non-emergency line and say, oh, let me call them real quick to verify.
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Or play dumb and be, hey, let me check with my lawyer.
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I don't actually have one, just so you know.
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Number two, verify through a second channel.
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If someone on Discord claims to be an artist, don't click on the links they send you.
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Open the platform yourself, like on FurAffinity or something, and search for them.
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Find the artist's real profile and then ask them directly on the platform, hey, by the way, is this you?
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Are you hacked?
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You'll have to wait, and that'll help you think more analytically.
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Sometimes that saves you money on spending tons of commissions.
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Number three, use the platforms that protect you.
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Going off platform is not automatically a scam, but if somebody approaches you through VGen and immediately says, hey, let's do this somewhere else so we can save on the fee,
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someone DMs you off platform, such as on Discord saying, hey, I can't access VGen or something, be on alert.
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That is absolutely a reason to be cautious.
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Websites like VGen give you buyer protection, a paper trail, a means to dispute your issues, and in general, protect you.
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If you think anything is sus or just in general, probably take photos of every interaction, so you could always do a chargeback if need be.
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Four, protect your money.
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For expensive commissions, I want clear written terms, documented payments, expected milestones, and deposits instead of blindly funding the art or suit for years in advance.
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You have a right to ask for a queue, and don't be afraid to check in.
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The longer your money is sitting in somebody else's queue, the longer it's at risk.
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And number five, does the person sound like themselves?
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You'll sometimes see scam messages using phrases like, kindly send payment, or I have an inquiry, or I have a query.
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Those phrases themselves do not mean someone is a scammer.
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They're normal English in a lot of places, but what matters is the mismatch.
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If your friend normally messages like, oh my God, Alina, stop being a fucking unk
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and then they send you a fucking meme or some shit and suddenly they're saying, kindly remit payment at your earliest convenience.
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I'm currently stranded at sea and I need money for my boat or I'll sink to the sirens.
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Hey, sirens, you want to tie me up?
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Maybe verify the account before sending them $800.
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Does the person DMing you sound like your friend?
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Or do you even know that person that well?
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Feel free to ignore weird DMs rather than respond.
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Slow down, verify who you're talking to And don't let them convince you to give up the protections you already have.
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ファーリーファンダムの中の詐欺事情と英語学習のヒント
このビデオでは、ファーリーファンダムで増えている詐欺について話されています。話者自身や友人が被害に遭った体験を共有し、詐欺の手口と回避方法を説明しています。日常的な会話の中で使われる自然な英語表現が多く、シャドーイングの練習に最適です。
日常会話に使える5つのフレーズ
- "I've been eyeing" - 「ずっと気になっていた」。例："There was a furry artist YCH that I'd been eyeing."（気になっていたファーリーアーティストのYCHがありました）
- "outbid me" - 「私より高く入札した」。例："somebody had actually outbid me."（誰かが私より高く入札していました）
- "take a moment to" - 「ちょっと時間を割いて～する」。例："please take a moment to subscribe to my channel."（チャンネル登録をちょっとお願いします）
- "hit my friends hard" - 「友人たちに大きな影響を与えた」。例："This next scam has been hitting my friends on Discord pretty hard."（次の詐欺はDiscordの友人たちに大きな被害を与えています）
- "be cautious with" - 「～に注意する」。例："Be cautious with unfamiliar download links."（見慣れないダウンロードリンクには注意してください）
シャドーイングのステップバイステップガイド
このビデオは話速がやや速く、口語的な表現が多いので、shadow speechの練習には少し工夫が必要です。以下の方法で取り組んでみましょう。
ステップ1：内容を理解する
まずビデオを1回聴き、詐欺の手口や対策の概要を把握します。話者の体験談が中心なので、感情的なニュアンスも捉えることが重要です。
ステップ2：フレーズを分解する
先ほど紹介した5つのフレーズを中心に、難しい単語やイディオムをメモします。"impersonator"（なりすまし者）、"malware"（マルウェア）などの専門用語も覚えておきましょう。
ステップ3：繰り返し聴いて真似る
10秒ほどの区間に分け、話者の発音、イントネーション、リズムを真似て繰り返し練習します。英語シャドーイングのコツは、「即座に追従する」ことです。少し遅れても大丈夫ですが、なるべく自然なスピードで話してみましょう。
ステップ4：録音して比較する
自分の声を録音し、話者の音声と比較します。アクセントの位置やポーズの取り方など、違いを見つけて修正します。これはIELTS スピーキング対策にも有効な方法です。
このビデオを使ってシャドーイングを続けると、日常会話のスピードに慣れ、自然な英語表現を身につけることができます。shadowspeaksのようなシャドーイングサイトを利用すると、より効率的に練習できますよ。
この動画の文法
話し手がよく使っている文型を、動画の実際の表現とともに紹介します。
| 文型 | 動画での表現 |
|---|---|
| 現在完了形 have/has + 過去分詞 — 過去の出来事が今も関係している | I've seen · have fallen · you've already sent |
| 受動態 be + 過去分詞 — 誰がするかより、何が起きるかに焦点を当てる | was deleted · wasn't mentioned · be reversed |
シャドーイングとは？英語上達に効果的な理由
シャドーイング（Shadowing）は、もともとプロの通訳者養成プログラムで開発された言語学習法で、多言語習得者として知られるDr. Alexander Arguelles によって広く普及されました。方法はシンプルですが非常に効果的：ネイティブスピーカーの英語を聞きながら、1〜2秒の遅延で声に出してすぐに繰り返す——まるで「影（shadow）」のように話者を追いかけます。文法ドリルや受動的なリスニングと異なり、シャドーイングは脳と口の筋肉が同時にリアルタイムで英語を処理・再現することを強制します。研究により、発音精度、抑揚、リズム、連音、リスニング力、そして会話の流暢さが大幅に向上することが確認されています。IELTSスピーキング対策や自然な英語コミュニケーションを目指す方に特におすすめです。