Scambaiting

[Kanahmal]

A couple of posts in the 'Lost in transit' thread reminded me of a hobby that a friend of mine has, it's pretty interesting.

It's called scambaiting and here's the rundown

Does somebody want to transfer millions of dollars into your account?
Does someone want to pay you to cash cheques and send them the money?
Met a new friend/penpal on a friendship/dating site who's asking you for money?
Has a dying person contacted you wanting your help to give his money to charity?
Have you sold an item and are asked to accept a payment larger than the item amount?

IT'S A SCAM!

Don't fall for common scams like this - fight them!

So what is scambaiting? Well, put simply, you enter into a dialogue with scammers, simply to waste their time and resources. Whilst you are doing this, you will be helping to keep the scammers away from real potential victims and screwing around with the minds of deserving thieves.

It doesn't matter if you are new to this sport or a hardened veteran; if you are wasting the time of a scammer, or frustrating them in any way well that's good enough for us, and we would welcome you to join with our now very large community.

Although this site concentrates mainly on the Nigerian 419 scam, we are happy to deal with other types of scams if and when the opportunity arises. We also have a large team of experts dedicated to the removal and closure of fake scammer banks and sites.

Even if you are a newcomer, much fun can be had and at the same time you will be doing a public service. If you are new to this game and need to know what scambaiting is all about, please click on the 419 FAQ link at the top of the page. See also Baiting Tips for information on getting started on this great cyber-sport

We encourage everyone to contribute to this site and the good cause of scambaiting by joining in the fun on the FORUM where you can meet new friends and seek expert help, tips and advice on anti-scamming. User participation is absolutely encouraged. Please help us to raise awareness the world over!

Do not be fooled into thinking scammers operate from a specific part of the world. Advance fee fraud scammers are a world-wide menace, and they operate from every continent. These scammers range from small one-man-band criminals scamming a few thousand dollars a year, to highly organised groups raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.



Please take time to read our article, "The Ethics of Scambaiting"
and also the following important information.

If you want to know more, or give it a shot yourselves there's a bunch of information here http://www.419eater.com/ (I suggest checking out the trophy room)

[Bruno]

whatever you do, don't ever set up a meet or give them your details.
I've read a couple of reports on /. of people doing just that, for fun.
But these are -real- criminals, and quite capable of hurting you, for fun, if they figure out you're toying with them.

[Kanahmal]

Well dont ever set up a meating 'near you' :P But I agree completely you should NEVER release any true information about yourself to these people, and I highly suggest learning as much about the scam and how to bait it prior to actually trying it.

[gratewhitehuntr]

I would consider a meeting.

No reason you couldn't extort money from one of these sorts.
Just have to go about it right.