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Online scams have proliferated tremendously since the Covid-19 pandemic emerged.
With many more internet users, scammers profited big time.
All sorts of scams came to light during the past two years.
From Covid-19 compensation scams to charity or love scams, we’ve seen it all.
Unfortunately, the authorities have been unable to track and stop many of the numerous cybercrimes and online frauds.
Therefore, some daring and internet-savvy people have decided to take matters into their own hands.
These people started to track and hunt cybercriminals.
While some consider them heroes, many are skeptical about their actions.
Since all heroes need a name, these people go by the name ‘scambaiters’.
And they are involved in what is known as ‘scambating’.
In other words, these modern online vigilantes try to combat online scams.
Learn more about what they do.
Are the Authorities Truly Unable to Stop Online Scams?
The authorities are aware of the growing number of online scams.
However, many times, they are unable to find the authors of these crimes.
Online, it is far more difficult to track and trace criminals.
Many steal and use other persons’ identities while carrying out different illegal activities.
As a result, when the police questioned the supposed offender, they often discover that person is innocent.
Moreover, many times, cybercriminals don’t even have to use a real person’s identification data.
They can simply create fake profiles on different platforms to accomplish their goals.
In fact, many online scams originate precisely on these platforms.
Let’s take for example online love scams.
These take place on dating apps, dating websites, or even social media.
Users who join these platforms and create new profiles are not required to provide real data.
They invent a name and then start targeting victims.
Once they gain their trust, they ask for money. Often, they receive it and then vanish.
According to pre-pandemic statistics, Action Fraud typically managed to tackle less than 10% of online fraud cases.
This is the national reporting center for cybercrime and fraud in the UK.
Presumably, other similar bodies have similar success rates.
Therefore, the situation is drastic, even if during recent years the resolution rate might have risen.
What Does Scambating Involve?
Scambating is the term internet users coined for online scam fighters.
These are people who volunteer to catch and expose online fraud cases.
Their purpose is to disrupt scammers and prevent them from preying on consumers.
Scambaiters seem willing to do the job the authorities often fail at.
However, their methods might be a bit unorthodox, and the efficiency of their work disputable.
Is Scambating Really Working?
In essence, scambating seems to be a noble thing.
Good-willed people try to stop cybercrooks from harming others and stealing money.
They deploy every means necessary to discover scammers’ identity and expose them.
Whenever this is not possible, they try to warn people of common scams they’ve encountered.
All in all, their job seems to have a positive goal.
Moreover, if you check out their activity online, you realize these people often manage to reduce online fraud.
Yet, the way scambaiters operate is unconventional and controversial.
The fact that this is not an official organization, and anyone can become an internet vigilante also raises concerns.
The Problem With Scambating
While scmabating has, at its core, good purposes, it sometimes deviates from accomplishing them.
In some cases, scambaiters have switched their role.
From the ‘good cop’, they became harassers.
They shamed and humiliated scammers and even got rewarded in certain circles for doing so.
The best example is the 419eater forum.
This is the largest, oldest, and one of the most popular forums for scambaiters.
It was launched in 2003 in response to 419 email scams also known as Nigerian prince scams.
On this forum, scambaiters exposed cybercriminals who tried to obtain bank transfers from victims in exchange for rewards.
Successful scambaiters received trophies once they managed to catch and expose a cybercriminal.
While these awards seem harmless, scambaiters often went a long way to gain praise and recognition.
Sometimes, they deploy the same tactics as scammers to track down offenders and trick them.
The Dark Side of Scambating
Many caught offenders have often been subject to bullying and shaming in communities like 419eater.
However, this is the least dangerous outcome.
In more drastic cases, scambaiters who managed to catch an offender forced that person to get a tattoo.
In other cases, they tricked offenders and lured them into traveling to a remote area.
Then, they left them there, with the risk of remaining stranded.
In response to these types of punishment, scammers often reacted.
There were situations when they made a hoax call to the police.
They urged the authorities to come to a scambaiter’s address to tackle an alleged urgent situation.
Unfortunately, in the confusion and rush of the moment, people even lost their lives while confronting the police.
The bottom line is that if anyone wants to fight against online scams, they should act responsibly.
If you’ve been a victim of online fraud, reporting the case to authorities is a commonsense reaction.
However, intentionally hunting, and harming offenders isn’t.
Article brought to you by, Clearwater Management.
