Contrary to cliché, revenge is not bittersweet when it comes to conning the con artist. It’s bitter, annoying at best, and dangerous at worst. Being the target of an attempted scam can be infuriating, and it’s normal to want to get even or try to turn the tables. Don’t do it.
A scammer is more than just a voice on your phone or an email in your inbox. You’re dealing with a criminal who has your contact information. Some scammers are even involved in terrorist activity. Even when they claim to be in a different country or speak with an accent, they are often closer than you think they are.
If you’ve fallen victim to a scam, you understand the visceral urge to seek vengeance on the con artist. This practice is called “scambaiting,” and there are now entire internet forums centered around this. Many scambaiters try to lure scammers in or pretend to be taken in by the scam and string the scammer along to try to turn the tables.
Successful scambaiters are in many cases internet and computer experts who know how to cover their tracks and disguise their identities. Successful scambaiters also warn to NEVER do this yourself unless you know what you’re doing. This is because scambaiting is dangerous, and can easily cross the line into being unethical and illegal.
The most important point you need to know is scambaiting is dangerous. I’m about to tell you why: scammers are criminals who make a living doing bad things to people, and they have your contact information. When you receive that email or phone call, I’m warning you right now to resist the urge to try to get even or get ahead of the scammer.
Scammers are criminals with your contact information. It doesn’t take much to build up an idea of who you are and where you are with this information.
While sometimes the scambaiter comes out ahead, in most cases it ends up annoying for the scambaiter at best. Recently, a member of the Scambusters team received a bogus tech call from a scammer attempting to gain remote access to his computer. The Scambuster did not just hang up the phone, as he would have advised readers to do. Instead, he gave the scammer a piece of his mind and was subsequently awake all night under attack from a continuous stream of automated calls. The robocall assault ran for about a week.
Another recent scambait was reported widely when a woman responded to a fake rental ad. When she realized she was corresponding with a con artist, she gave him a piece of her mind. Over the next few days, an eruption of fake ads popped up with her contact information in them and she got all of the phone calls.
Annoying phone calls are mild consequences of a scambait gone awry. Remember, you are dealing with con artists. There have even been reports of scambaiters being lured into dangerous situations and attacked. Don’t risk it.
So when you get that phone call or email from a scammer, don’t give them a piece of your mind and don’t string them along. Just delete the email. Just hang up the phone. If the calls keep coming, talk to your phone company. You’re not the first person to call in for help with this kind of problem, and they can help you. If you are threatened, call the police. Just don’t try to get even because chances are it will end badly.
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For more than three decades Jean Mignolet has served in law enforcement and private investigation, managing all aspects of general investigative business. She specializes in in-depth background investigations, and is the top choice of attorneys, corporations, small business owners and individuals who require all types of investigative services.