What means Scam Baiting?

 

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. 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 fradulent "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.

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