We do NOT "scam the scammers".

This is a real hate of mine. It's beyond a peeve. It's much worse than a simple annoyance. I detest that phrase. I abhor it with a passion. I became a baiter back in 2005, and even to this day still bait scammers. I know what it is to be a baiter and I know what baiters do. What baiters do, is waste a scammer's time. We keep them busy and away from real people who may pay them. We burn their phone credit by making them call us. We drive them so insane with our "stupid" calls that they turn off their phones, thus preventing real people from being able to contact them and giving them time to hopefully come to their senses and see they're caught up in a scam. We get the scammers to do stupid things. We have them pose for crazy photos. We make them perform mumbo jumbo religious ceremonies for made up religions. We send them on "safaris" to other parts of the world. We get them so wrapped up in the stories we weave that they can think of nothing else but the fictional pot of gold we offer them at the end of a make believe rainbow. THAT is what we do. We do not "scam" the scammers. We "bait them" by throwing our lures into their murky waters and reel them in with our lies. There is a world of difference between "baiting the scammers" and "scamming the scammers". We never ask for anything physical from them. All we get them to give us is their time and attention. Don't mistake or confuse one for the other. Thank you for your attention.

I agree, We do NOT scam the scammers! I have not made ONE PENNY from doing what I do from any of the scammers I have dealt with. In fact I / We pay a voluntary amount of money to help people that we will probably never meet or even get a thank you from. I have kept scammers away from real victims, I have reported the bank accounts they use to Scam real people of their money, I have worked to kill their websites that they use to defraud real victims. I have wasted their time & resources knowing that the more time they spend trying to scam me the less time they have to scam a real victim.

But I have not been paid (Or Stolen) a single penny from any of the efforts I have made. (Never will either)

Another thing is that we abide by rules. The scammers have no rules. They will use anything available to them to steal your money. Photos, ID's, Passports, Fake Documents Anything.....

I can not send a fake ID. I can not send a fake passport. The scammers can & will reuse them. I cannot use a real person's name, real persons phone number, or real persons address. We deal with criminals and can not involve innocent third party's.

(Sorry about the rant. Feel free to edit)

A real scambaiter does everything within the law, they do not stoop to their level and commit a crime to "catch" a criminal. They never admit to the scammers that they are baiters and are just wasting their time, also called "burning a scammer." This hurts victims by educating them, will make them better scammers, and they will change their details and the victims will not be able to find them in searches online.

Scammers weave unlawful fantasies for cash. Baiters weave lawful fantasies to turn the tables on them, learn the details of their scams to post details they use, and hopefully find some victims who might be caught up in their lies and try to warn them and stop them from getting hurt. Victims of scams should avoid scambaiting as it is very dangerous to their recovery. If they do, it always ends up worse for them. I can't count the number of times that recent victims got mad or thought this was just some kind of harmless Internet game and then got hurt. I have had to convince many to stop what they were doing as they did not realize the danger it put them back into after their scam. Scammers are criminals and lots of safety precautions and education must be done prior to contacting them, and emotional detachment must be possible and maintained or the baiter can get hurt himself.

Some of the stuff you read in baiting looks like silly games, but behind the scenes baiters are getting details to expose and hurt them from the choice that the scammers have to steal money from people.

Thank you - this is a brilliant subject open for discussion, how often has a scammed person come into/onto this site bragging about trying to get even with their scammer --- as a scammed victim, I wanted to get even in the beginning but after talking with everyone here realized, not only would I be wasting my time, but once again being open to another scam.

Scammers are only good when they get someone to fall for their lies and more lies and then the money requests and as a victim I can attest to that.

This is a world wide fight and scammers are around the world, not just certain countries.

To everyone here on this site, keep up the fight and keep baiting these creeps that ruin so many lives.

RF

I agree with all that has been said.,

Baiters (well proper baiters) do not need to "scam the scammers" we actually have a code of ethics, and do nothing illegal

We do not bait for cash nor send any nasty viruses etc, as has been said we waste the scammers resources, not for personal gain, but for a sense of justice for innocent victims, and to warn victims that they are being scammed.

Hi Gateway,
I appreciate your comments, keep the scammers, busy as Slappy says so they can not find new victims ...within all legal limits. the more they can be stopped, the less victims there will be, hopefully.
As I have said, a scammer is only as good as the fear he can install in a person and if he cannot do that, after that he is useless.
As baiters, keep going after them, hope someday you might get revenge on my scammer and and many others.
RF

What we are doing is not revenge. In a way of speaking, we give the scammers back their own medicine, making them believe we fall for their sob stories, but trying all legal ways we can use to waste their resources and to keep them busy and away from the potential real victims.

Damaging the scammers and keeping them away from the real victims is the main goal. Exposing the scammers and the methods they use to scam people is another one. As long as the information about fake profiles used and the proof about their scamming activity is posted online, anyone searching may find it and may find help to deal with the scammer because of that.

No revenge in any actions as such, no hidden motives. And it's sure not just to have fun. Baiting involve a lot of work and it´s done with a clear mind, not with feelings. The scammers are criminals hurting people. They use stolen pictures, fake names, stolen identities. Sometime they use victims who unknowingly become accomplices in their scams. The victims are in one country, the scammer in another one and no police has jurisdiction overseas. Not to mention it is impossible to catch someone who doesn't really exist.

What we are doing is open for anyone to see in our posts - that´s the main reason for us to do what we are doing. Education about the scam is the only way to avoid becoming a victim. And any information obtained during this process is meant to be posted to save potential victims, unaware about the danger.

I disagree with the OP. I would bait scammers all day long if I had the time to do it. Being a victim of a few different scams, I know what it is like to be the victim.

Scammers should get what they deserve within legal limits. Tie up their time, have them running in circles. If enough people did this, they would eventually shut down and implode. This would save thousands of others heartache and loss of money.

Isn't that pretty much what I said?

Baiting is fine as Wayne said, they are talking more in terms of Scamming the scammer like taking money back or doing something that is illegal to get back at the scammer. As a victime some feel that its warranted, but one thing that Ive learned here and that is preached is that we live above the scammers and wont break the law to take them down. Which is the right way to go about things if you stoop to there level you are just as bad as the scammer is the basic idea.