Scambaiting: An Online Sports

Aren’t you sick and tired of those irritating scam emails informing you that you have won some lottery you never took part in; that you can wire dirty money into your own bank account out of African nations; etc etc

Well, it’s about time some vigilante group starts hitting back at these scammers at their own game isn’t it? Welcome to the world of scambaiting!

What precisely is scambaiting? As explained on the 419 Eater website:

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.

I had a blast reading through some of the successful scambaiting case files shared on the 419 Eater forum. A typical case will start with a simple email reply to express interest in whatever subject matter of the scam, followed by a long chains of emails to slowly bait the scammer into sending you their personal particulars and photos which will then be duly published in 419 Eater’s “Hall of Shame” or “Trophy Room”. It’s almost like a new-age sports in the Internet age that gives you the same adrenaline rush as physical activities like hunting and fishing – but with a purpose and for society’s greater good.

Do give scambaiting a try if you are of a competitive nature; have some time to kill and would like to work towards the betterment of email ethics. If you do, remember to share your closed case file with me hor. 🙂

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