Scam baiting is when someone purposely engages with scammers to waste their time and potentially humiliate them, often through the 419 scam. The goal is to prevent scammers from stealing money and sometimes even get them caught by authorities. However, it raises ethical questions as it can be seen as vigilante activism and the scammer’s motives may not always be just.
While most internet users are wise enough to avoid online scams, there are still people out there who fall victim to these fraudulent schemes every day. They can be fetched for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Sometimes, however, the tables are turned on these scammers, the people who run the scams, in a process known as a decoy scam.
Scam baiting begins when a person is fully aware that someone is trying to rip them off in one of many different styles of online fraud. They could get a suspicious email, see an online auction scam, or come in contact with a fake escrow website. This scammer will use several techniques to give the scammer nothing but a hard time and will eventually attempt to defraud or humiliate them. He or she can also cost the scammer money or sometimes even get them caught by the authorities. The main point of scam baiting is to do everything possible to stop scammers from stealing money from innocent people and to aggravate and humiliate them in the process.
The most popular type of scam aimed at scam baiting is the 419 scam, also known as the Nigerian 419 scam. In this type of scam, the scammer promises the victim large sums of money with the condition that the victim sends a smaller sum first, usually by wire transfer. The scam lure begins when the scammer pretends to be the potential victim and responds, usually via email, to the person running the scam. Scammers usually impersonate someone eccentric or peculiar. The point is, they can later post the email thread online. This is to show how gullible the people themselves who perpetrate the scams can be.
One of the main goals of scam baiting is to get the perpetrators to pose for a photo and then post it online for people to see. The scammer will promise to send the scammer the money he is trying to steal only if the scammer sends a picture of him doing something ridiculous or holding up a sign that says something funny or demeaning. Because there is a language barrier between the scammer and the scammer, the scammer will often be unaware of the humor in the sign they are taking the picture with. In retaliation, the scammer will often use someone else to take these photos. Sometimes the scammer will realize they are being “fooled” and will simply cut off communication from the scammer.
Scam bait raises some ethical questions. One is that it is a form of vigilante activism. Another is that the scammer can’t be sure if the picture they are posting online is of the scammer or just another one of their victims. Finally, the scammer’s motives aren’t always to do justice and are often simply for their own amusement. Journalist Patrick Cain called the scam “the Internet’s first blood sport.”
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