Ethics of Scambaiting!

What´s meant Scambaiting?

 

Scam baiting is the practice of pretending interest in a fraudulent scheme in order to manipulate a scammer.

The purpose of scam baiting might be to waste the scammers' time, embarrass them, cause them to reveal information which can be passed on to legal authorities in the hope that they will be prosecuted, or simply to amuse the baiter. Scam baiting emerged in response to e-mail based frauds such as the common Nigerian 419 scam (419 fraud or Nigerian fraud, both named after Section 419 of the Nigerian Penal Code). Several websites publish transcripts of correspondences between baiters and scammers.
One common goal of scam baiting has become the photographic trophy. The scammers, sometimes known as lads, are goaded or cajoled by the Mugus, or victims, into having a picture taken of themselves, usually while holding custom made signs, or in odd poses with specific props (such as placing a fish on one's head).

A beneficial side-effect of scam baiting has been the exposure of false and fraudulent "banking" and "credit" services, which are often created by the scammers to further their scams and make them seem legitimate.

Scam-baiting is a potentially dangerous activity. At least one scam victim has been murdered as the result of a 419 scam, and scam-baiters are presumably not well-liked by the 419 operators.

Scam baiting can also be considered a type of sting operation, although many scambaits are simply to waste time instead of catching the scammer, so it may not fit the definition.

How does scam work?

Scams target people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels across the World. There is no one group of people who are more likely to become a victim of a scam. If you think you are 'too clever' to fall for a scam, you may take risks that scammers can take advantage of.

Scams succeed because of two things:
- Firstly, a scam looks like the real thing. It appears to meet your need or desire. To find out that it is in fact a scam, you must first make the effort to check it properly. You need to ask questions and think carefully before you decide what to do. Being aware of the dangerous myths below will help you with this. Depending on the issue, you can decide if something is a scam on the spot, or you might need help-and that could take several days.

- Secondly, scammers manipulate you by 'pushing your buttons' to produce the automatic response they want. It's nothing to do with you personally, it's to do with the way individuals in society are wired up emotionally and socially. It's because the response is automatic that people fall for the scam. To stop scammers manipulating you into their traps, it can be useful to know how to prevent the automatic response they expect.

Dangerous myths

Some people hold beliefs that leave them even more vulnerable to scams.
One of them is the belief that all companies, businesses and organisations are legitimate and okay because they are all vetted and approved by the government or some other authority. That is not so. Consumer protection agencies can only do so much. While they are constantly on the look-out for dodgy operators, some scams only come to their attention when people report them.

A similar dangerous myth is that internet websites are all legitimate, or that it is difficult to set up a website. It is quite easy and cheap to set up a professional-looking website that is run from outside your country. A scam website could be used to sell a dodgy product, or it could be easily made to resemble a genuine website, like a bank or credit union website.

These websites are often only 'live' for a few days- but that is enough time to trick people into giving up their credit card details or other personal information.

Another belief that makes people vulnerable to scams is the idea that there are short cuts to wealth that only a few people know. Ask yourself the question: if someone knew a secret to instant wealth why would they be spending their time telling everyone, or need to charge people money for it?
Believing these myths can place you at risk.

Psychological tricks used in scams

As well as exploiting the dangerous myths above, scammers often use psychological triggers to get an automatic response from you without you realising it. Watch out for them next time you're approached, or even next time someone asks you for a favour.

Scams and identity theft-your personal details are valuable!
Scammers are not just after your money. Scams can also be designed to steal your personal details. The types of personal information that scammers might ask for include credit card and bank account details, passport details and name and address details.

This is known as 'identity theft'. Many scams, such as card skimming, phishing, lottery scams, money transfer scams and work from home scams could not only cost you money, but could also result in the misuse of your details to commit 'identity fraud'.

Identity fraud generally refers to the use of a stolen or assumed identity to gain goods, services, money and other benefits, or to avoid obligations. By using your personal details, scammers can sometimes take out loans, claim welfare benefits or run up debts in your name. These activities can damage your credit rating, making it difficult for you to borrow money or get a credit card.

Of course, identity fraud can also cost you money directly (if scammers use a stolen password to take money from your bank account for example). At the very least, setting the record straight after a scammer has misused your identity can be an annoying and time-consuming task.

Apart from scams, identity theft can happen in many ways. Commonly, it may happen if your wallet or purse has been stolen and the thief has used the details on your cards. Or it could happen if someone 'dumpster dives' in your rubbish bin, taking your personal details from your discarded mail.

Prevention: Tips to protect your Identity

- Never give your credit card number or other personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or you are sure you know who you are dealing with. Personal information includes: your social security number, driver license number or account number(s), date of birth, place of birth, home address, mother's maiden name or passwords.

- When you order new checks, consider removing extra information such as your social security number, driver license number, middle name and telephone number.

- Check your credit history and bank records frequently. Look for signs of inaccurate or suspicious activity.

- Keep detailed and accurate records of your banking, check writing, credit card and ATM usage.

- Ensure that carbons on credit card receipts are destroyed.

- Purchase a home shredder or completely destroy any items that may have personal information and identifiers, such as address, date of birth, social security number, driver license or identification card number, and account number(s), rather than discarding them in the trash.

- To minimize the amount of information subject to theft, do not carry extra credit cards, your social security card, birth certificate or passport in your wallet or purse, except when needed.

- If your cellular phone or long distance calling card has been stolen or if you discover fraudulent charges in your bills, cancel the accounts and open new ones.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE BECOME A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT

Everyone makes a mistake once in a while, so let's assume you fell for one of the scammer's cons, and gave him your social security number, a fax of your passport, a credit card number, etc. What do you do now to prevent further damage, such as identity theft?

Click here if you have sent money to a scammer or are corresponding with a scammer about a lottery, sweepstakes, loan, money transfer, cashiers check or inheritance.

What should I do if I think my identity has been stolen or compromised?

If you think your identity may have been stolen, here's what to do now:
- DO NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THE SCAMMERS! They are dangerous criminals. You can be physically injured and even killed by fraud criminals. Do not travel to meet them or "claim your winnings". Some people who traveled to Nigeria and South Africa been beaten, kidnapped, or murdered.

- Contact your bank - If you think you're a victim of identity theft or account fraud, you should call your bank, tell them what happened and ask them to monitor for unusual activity and advice whether you should close the account and open a new checking or savings account.

- Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus (outside of the US may have different agencies) to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts.

As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge. They will work with you to correct unauthorized transactions in your accounts and correct any incorrect reports to credit bureaus, as well as help to protect you from any future identity theft or account fraud. Also Call the fraud departments of all three credit bureaus. Ask them to put a "fraud alert" on your file. This tells creditors to call you before they open any more accounts in your name. Click on the blue link or call their phone number:

Equifax - 1-800-525-6285
www.equifax.com
Experian - 1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Transunion - 1-800-680-7289 fvad@transunion.com
www.transunion.com
- File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

- Obtain new identity documents - If you sent your passport number or faxed a copy of it to the scammers, or done the same with your driver's license or other government documents, obtain a new document - be sure to explain what happened, so they cancel your old one and give you a new number.

- If you have seen unauthorized charges: Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

- File your complaint with the FTC
Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Click on the link at left or call the FTC's identity theft hotline toll-free at 1 (877) IDTHEFT or (877)-438-4338 .

- The hotline is staffed by counselors trained to help victims and take their complaints. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist you.

- File a Financial Loss complaint form online with the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which is a partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

- Complete the FTC identity theft affidavit, which will assist you in reporting to many companies that a new account has been open in your name. Use the ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts.
Contact your state attorney general! to alert them to the scam or fraud activity.

- For more in-depth information on recovering from identity theft and help with specific problems, read ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name. Stay current with new scams as the emerge, so you don't have this happen again

Tips on How to Identify a Scam or Fraud

If the email, phone call, prize or lottery notification has any of the following elements, we strongly suggest it is probably a fraud and you do not respond to it. Below are some general tips to recognize scams. Detailed information can be found from the menu buttons at left:

- The name of the company is listed on this website somewhere.
- The email matches one of the definitions or formats on this website.
- The organization has no website and can not be located in Google.
- The email or requestor asks for bank account information, credit card numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, your mother's maiden name or other personal information.
- The email or caller advises that you have won a prize - but you did not enter any competition run by the prize promoters.
- The mail may be personally addressed to you but it has been posted using bulk mail - thousands of others around the world may have received the exact same notification. Especially true if you find an exact or similar email posted on this website.
- The return address is a yahoo, hotmail, excite.com or other free email accounts. Legitimate companies can afford the roughly $100 per year that it costs to acquire and maintain a domain and related company email account.
- The literature contains a lot of hype and exaggerations, but few specific details about costs, your obligations, how it works, etc.
- The prize promoters ask for a fee (for administration, "processing", taxes, etc.) to be paid in advance. A legitimate lottery simply deducts that from the winnings!
- The scheme offers bait prizes that, if they are real, are often substandard, over-priced, or falsely represented. Or, as part of the prize you can purchase "exclusive items" which may also be over-priced or substandard.
- To get your prize might require travel overseas at your own cost (and personal risk) to receive it.

Links for additional information and

Law Enforcement Authorities around the world

Or contact us: gso.info@yahoo.com

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