{"id":284526,"date":"2021-06-26T11:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/scambaiting-is-racist-and-dangerous-so-lets-stop-celebrating-it\/"},"modified":"2021-06-26T11:00:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-26T08:00:17","slug":"scambaiting-is-racist-and-dangerous-so-lets-stop-celebrating-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scambaiting-is-racist-and-dangerous-so-lets-stop-celebrating-it\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018Scambaiting\u2019 is racist and dangerous, so let\u2019s stop celebrating it"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a25dacf3edb1\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a25dacf3edb1\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scambaiting-is-racist-and-dangerous-so-lets-stop-celebrating-it\/#What_is_scambaiting\" >What is scambaiting?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scambaiting-is-racist-and-dangerous-so-lets-stop-celebrating-it\/#Hunting_trophies\" >Hunting trophies<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scambaiting-is-racist-and-dangerous-so-lets-stop-celebrating-it\/#Fighting_fraud_responsibly\" >Fighting fraud responsibly<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#\u2018Scambaiting\u2019 is racist and dangerous, so let\u2019s stop celebrating it<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>Fraud has reached \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-55769991\">epidemic<\/a>\u201d levels in the UK over the past 12 months, costing up to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rusi.org\/publication\/occasional-papers\/silent-threat-impact-fraud-uk-national-security\">\u00a3190 billion a year<\/a> and constituting what the Royal United Services Institute has called a \u201cnational security threat\u201d in need of an urgent institutional response.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s clear that the police are struggling to keep pace with fraudsters. A 2018 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/news\/2018\/09\/exclusive-more-than-96-of-reported-fraud-cases-go-unsolved\/\">Which?<\/a> report found that an estimated 96% of fraud cases reported to Action Fraud go unsolved. And with scams seemingly <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-are-there-so-many-text-scams-all-of-a-sudden-161909\">on the rise<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rusi.org\/sites\/default\/files\/cyber_enabled_fraud_bp_final_web_version.pdf\">54%<\/a> of which involve the internet, the problem of online fraud <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears to be getting worse.<\/p>\n<p>There are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/a-handsome-soldier-with-a-medical-bill-how-romance-scammers-make-you-fall-in-love-with-them-127820\">romance scammers<\/a> forming bogus online relationships with their victims, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-to-avoid-scams-when-buying-a-pet-online-153138\">pet scammers<\/a> setting up thousands of websites selling animals that don\u2019t exist, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/phishing-scams-are-becoming-ever-more-sophisticated-and-firms-are-struggling-to-keep-up-73934\">phishing scammers<\/a> using fear and urgency to obtain sensitive personal information from victims.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the growing threat of online fraud, volunteers have taken the matter of policing scams into their own hands, with some forming vigilante groups of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/conversation.which.co.uk\/money\/what-is-scambaiting-romance-fraud-explained\/\">scambaiters<\/a>\u201d who seek to identify and disrupt scammers where police forces have failed.<\/p>\n<p>But while scambaiters may be effective in reducing online fraud, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S1756061621000276\">our study<\/a> has shown they\u2019re also controversial, with some communities rewarding scambaiters who humiliate or inflict harm on scammers. On closer inspection, this form of vigilante justice may actually do more harm than good.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_scambaiting\"><\/span>What is scambaiting?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The most basic form of scambaiting sets out to waste a scammer\u2019s time. At a minimum, scambaiters attempt to make scammers answer countless questions or perform pointless and random tasks. By keeping a scammer busy, scambaiters claim they\u2019re preventing the scammer from defrauding a real victim.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Posing as an Old Lady to Expose Online Scammers | Super Users\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PyAbBE7lUwo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>Scambaiting may also be conducted with a specific purpose in mind. Sometimes scambaiters attempt to obtain an offender\u2019s bank account information, for instance, which they then report to a financial institution. But there are other, less benevolent motives in the scambaiting community.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands of scambaiters are organized on the 419eater forum, which describes itself as the \u201clargest scambaiting community on earth\u201d, with over 1.7 million forum threads. The forum was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/knowyourmeme.com\/memes\/nigerian-scams\">first established in 2003<\/a> to tackle the growing issue of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.actionfraud.police.uk\/a-z-of-fraud\/419-emails-and-letters\">419 emails<\/a> \u2013 a scam that promises people huge sums of cash in return for a small upfront fee.<\/p>\n<p>419eater provides a particularly interesting case study because members are incentivized and rewarded for their scambaits through a unique system of icons, regarded as trophies, that they can obtain in their profile\u2019s signature lines.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hunting_trophies\"><\/span>Hunting trophies<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>These trophies can be fairly benign. Some icons are awarded for exceptionally long scambaits, or for securing a photo or video of the scammer. But other trophies may cause lasting damage to an offender\u2019s physical and mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n<p>The yin yang trophy symbol, for example, represents an offender getting a permanent tattoo. Given that those targeted are often located in some of the poorest communities in West Africa, this exposes the offender to a greater risk of HIV transmission.<\/p>\n<p>Another more sought-after trophy is the pith helmet. This is awarded when an offender <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>s a minimum of 200 miles on a round trip, which may result in the offender being stranded and therefore forcing them to take desperate measures to return home.<\/p>\n<p>To get offenders hooked into performing these tasks, the scambaiters will use a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> engineering techniques (just like the scammers themselves) such as inventing fictitious scenarios, forging documents, or bringing in multiple scambaiters when a concentrated effort is required.<\/p>\n<p>If one examines some of the scambaits on 419eater in greater depth, it\u2019s easy to see why scholars have criticized the forum for its face-value <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/1470412914546845\">racism<\/a>. One scambait, for example, resulted in an offender dressing up as the fictional character Curious George, with a hired monkey. Sections of the 419eater community appear to treat their predominantly West African targets with racial prejudice and the community seems set up to reward rather than condemn these acts.<\/p>\n<p>Scambaiting has also received a recent boost in popularity, with YouTubers like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCBNG0osIBAprVcZZ3ic84vw\">Jim Browning<\/a> now promoting their own scambaiting activities. Jim Browning\u2019s techniques are controversial because he hacks offenders\u2019 computers to transfer files to his own computer and yet they\u2019re seemingly tolerated; Browning was even the focus of a recent <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/m000fzx2\">BBC documentary series<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"HACKING the online SCAMMERS who tricked us! \u26a0\ufe0f - BBC\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cZ9LUS2F1cA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>Scambaiting can also be dangerous, especially for those who are new and inexperienced. Scammers have previously employed a retribution technique known as \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2019\/03\/30\/us\/swatting-what-is-explained\/index.html\">swatting<\/a>\u201d in cases where they\u2019ve encountered a scambaiter. Swatting involves an offender making a hoax call to a police department in an attempt to elicit an emergency response from the police. In some instances, victims of swatting <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/how-to-stop-swatting-before-it-happens-seattle\/?redirectURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fstory%2Fhow-to-stop-swatting-before-it-happens-seattle%2F\">have been killed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fighting_fraud_responsibly\"><\/span>Fighting fraud responsibly<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So scambaiting appears both controversial and risky. But voluntary responses to online fraud needn\u2019t be this way. For instance, the primary author of this article, Jack, helped set up <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/petscams.com\/\">Petscams.com<\/a>, an organisation which attempts to deal with the growing number of pet scam websites and uses a disruption approach as opposed to the confrontation tactics used in scambaiting.<\/p>\n<p>Petscam.com volunteers have created a database of fraudulent pet and shipping websites, and have joined the US Federal Trade Commission\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\") so that victims of this scam have a facility that they can send their complaints to. Volunteerism has also been incorporated into the private sector with Cisco\u2019s [Phishtank](http:\/\/phishtank.org\/ \" href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/enforcement\/consumer-sentinel-network\/data-contributors\">consumer sentinel network<\/a>, which provides a facility through which volunteers can report phishing websites.<\/p>\n<p>Our research also suggests that state-led initiatives could play a more prominent role in tackling online fraud. Since 2011, the National Crime Agency in the UK has run a scheme, using \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wiki.openrightsgroup.org\/wiki\/Cyber_Specials\">Cyber Specials<\/a>\u201d with relevant skills to volunteer as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk\/careers\/how-to-join-the-nca\/nca-specials\">special constables<\/a>. Yet the uptake has so far been poor, and a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk\/hmicfrs\/wp-content\/uploads\/fraud-time-to-choose-an-inspection-of-the-police-response-to-fraud.pdf\">2019 review<\/a> found that 16 police forces and three regional units weren\u2019t using volunteers to tackle cybercrime.<\/p>\n<p>Voluntary initiatives like 419eater have shown there\u2019s an appetite from the public to tackle scams. If state bodies can harness them in a more ethical and effective way, we may be able to better address the epidemic of fraud currently sweeping the UK.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important;margin: 0 !important;max-height: 1px !important;max-width: 1px !important;min-height: 1px !important;min-width: 1px !important;padding: 0 !important\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/163038\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important;margin: 0 !important;max-height: 1px !important;max-width: 1px !important;min-height: 1px !important;min-width: 1px !important;padding: 0 !important\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/163038\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><em>Article by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jack-mark-whittaker-1195715\">Jack Mark Whittaker<\/a>, PhD Candidate, Criminology (Cybercrime), <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-surrey-1201\">University of Surrey<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/mark-button-319729\">Mark Button<\/a>, Professor of Security and Fraud, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-portsmouth-1302\">University of Portsmouth<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/scambaiting-why-the-vigilantes-fighting-online-fraudsters-may-do-more-harm-than-good-163038\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/scambaiting-racist-dangerous-stop-celebrating-syndication\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#\u2018Scambaiting\u2019 is racist and dangerous, so let\u2019s stop celebrating it&#8221; Fraud has reached \u201cepidemic\u201d levels in the UK over the past 12 months, costing up to \u00a3190 billion a year and constituting what the Royal United Services Institute has called a \u201cnational security threat\u201d in need of an urgent institutional response. But it\u2019s clear that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":284527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/Scambaiter.jpg&signature=ea54bc745767c747373c1c657a7dd08f","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}