What Is Scambaiting?

Scambaiting is when someone (also known as the scambaiter) deliberately poses as a potential victim in order to interact with a scammer.

These interactions are a form of internet vigilantism where they attempt to turn the tables on the scammer, and their main objective is to waste the scammer's time, so they spend less time on innocent victims.

They also collect information to pass on to authorities, and they publicly reveal the scammer to raise awareness. This is done by word of mouth, and they tend to share their findings on discussion forums or video platforms such as YouTube.

How Does Scambaiting Work?

Scambaiters follow a few strategies to catch scammers. The goal is to keep the scammer engaged with them for as long as possible. Here's a breakdown of what typically happens.

• 1

  Finding A Scam

  The scambaiter decides who they are going to bait and makes contact with them. They typically do this via an inbound scam call, inbound email, or inbound text message. In some cases, scambaiters go looking for known scam numbers, fake tech support ads, and even phishing websites.

• 2

  Creating A Fake Identity

  Before talking to the scammer, the scambaiter creates a fake identity. They make up a completely fictional character that seems believable to a scammer.

  First, they think about what kind of person a scammer would want to target, which would usually be someone who seems vulnerable, confused, or wealthy. Then they build a backstory for that character, including things like:

  • A fake name
  • An age (often an elderly person or someone inexperienced with technology)
  • A personality (like overly trusting, very forgetful, or super polite)
  • A life story. For example, they may be bad with computers or new to online banking

  To make it even more realistic, scambaiters will create fake social media profiles, fake email adresses or even fake bank accounts (obviously without real money) that match the story. Some scambaiters even change their voice, either by using voice changers to sound older, younger, or less tech-savvy during phone calls.

  The goal is to make the scammer believe they're dealing with an easy target, so they stay hooked for as long as possible.

• 3

  Starting The Conversation

  The scambaiter contacts the scammer by answering their message and pretends to be a real victim. They act interested but also confused, asking lots of questions or making small mistakes to keep the scammer engaged.

• 4

  Wasting The Scammer's Time

  The scambaiter works to stall and distract the scammer for as long as possible. They might ask the scammer to repeat things or pretend to have a technical issue. They act like they're about to send money, but keep getting it wrong. The longer this goes on, the better, as it ties up the scammer and keeps them from scamming others.

• 5

  Gathering Evidence

  While the scammer is distracted, the scambaiter collects as much evidence and information as possible. They might record the call or chat. They will save any documents or links the scammer sends them and might even trace where the call is coming from by checking the IP address. This information can help warn others or be given to authorities at a later date.

• 6

  Exposing Or Reporting The Scam

  Once all this has been done, the scambaiter will typically either reveal that they've known it was a scam all along (to enrage the scammer and waste even more of their time) or they may post the story or recordings online to warn others. As a final step, professional scambaiters will then report what they found to scam-tracking websites, banks, or law enforcement.

What Motivates People To Scambait?

Scambaiters are motivated by a mix of reasons, depending on the person. They put themselves in harm's way by pretending to fall for the scam so innocent victims don’t get defrauded. It's a classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted. As humans, it feels good to do the right thing. The experience of "moral elevation" makes them want to continue helping people. No one likes to hear stories of innocent victims having their life savings taken from them.

A strong sense of justice drives some scammers; they want to protect people from scammers and make it harder for criminals to succeed. The scambaiter sees it as an act of civic duty to play the player. They see scambaiting as a way to fight back when so many scams go unpunished.

Others are motivated by personal experience. Maybe they, or someone they love, got scammed, and scambaiting feels like a way to get revenge or prevent others from getting hurt the same way.

Some scambaiters are simply in it for the challenge and entertainment. They enjoy outsmarting scammers, playing characters, and seeing how long they can keep a scammer on the hook. For them, it's part game, part performance. Sometimes the entertainment factor is the only reason it happens because if it's posted online, it entertains millions of people.

And for many, it's also about education because they want to raise awareness by showing how scams work so regular people can spot the warning signs and stay safe.

Notable Scambaiters

There’s a few individuals that have gained recognition for their scambaiting efforts.

Kitboga

A Twitch streamer who uses humor and various personas to engage scammers, aiming to educate the public about common scams.

Kitboga is making a huge difference in scambaiting by turning it into something much bigger than just wasting scammers' time. He's using it to protect people, spread awareness, and even build tools to fight back.

He makes scambaiting fun and educational. Kitboga creates fake characters like elderly or confused adults to keep scammers talking for hours. The longer a scammer is on the phone with him, the less time they have to scam real victims. And while he's doing it, he teaches viewers exactly how scams work, in a way that's funny, easy to understand, and relatable.

Kitboga is using technology and AI to take scambaiting to a new level. He has built tools that can automatically engage with scammers, running conversations even when he's not actively there. He has recently built an army of AI Bots that can talk to entire call centers, keeping them busy for days. While on scambaiting calls, he also uses virtual machines and fake banking sites to trap scammers safely without risking his real information.

On top of that, Kitboga helped launch a tool called Seraph Secure, which helps people detect and remove dangerous remote-access programs that scammers often trick people into installing. This protection can stop scams before they even start.

Jim Browning

A YouTuber known for infiltrating scam call centers and exposing their operations through detailed investigations.

Jim Browning is making waves when it comes to scambaiting by infiltrating and exposing scam operations from the inside.

Unlike many scambaiters who focus on chatting with scammers to tie them up, Jim takes a much deeper approach. He sets traps using virtual machines and allows scammers to connect, but secretly, he's tracking everything they do.

From there, he sometimes manages to hack back into the scammers' own systems, getting access to internal files, call logs, and even security camera footage from their offices. This gives him real proof of how these scam call centers operate, which is something very few people can get.

He shares his findings through his YouTube channel, where he posts detailed videos showing how the scams work, who's behind them, and how people can protect themselves. The videos teach viewers step-by-step how scams unfold, making people much harder targets for scammers.

Jim also works alongside other cybersecurity experts and law enforcement, helping to shut down real scam operations when possible. His work has been featured in documentaries and news reports, showing that his impact goes beyond YouTube. He's helping authorities get the evidence they need to fight organized online crime.

The Rise Of AI In Scambaiting

Recently, AI has started playing a bigger role in scambaiting, and it's changing the way scambaiters fight back against online scams.

AI tools can mimic human conversation extremely well. Scambaiters can now use AI chatbots to carry on long, believable conversations with scammers without having to manually type every response. This means scammers can waste hours or even days talking to a "person" that doesn't even exist, while the real scambaiter watches from the background.

AI is also being used to analyze scammer behavior faster. Some scambaiters feed scam emails, scripts, or recordings into AI systems that can quickly spot patterns, generate warnings and can even predict the scammer's next move. This kind of analysis used to take hours of careful manual work, now it can happen in minutes.

There's also growing interest in using AI for automated reporting. Some scambaiters are building systems that can automatically gather evidence during a bait, create detailed reports, and send them to law enforcement or anti-scam organizations.

However, the rise of AI in scambaiting comes with challenges too. AI conversations can sometimes sound unnatural if not fine-tuned properly, and scammers are also starting to use AI themselves to sound smarter and more convincing. So, it's becoming a kind of digital arms race between scambaiters and scammers.

Advancements in artificial intelligence have introduced new tools in the fight against scammers:

AI has completely changed the way scambaiting is done, making it smarter, and faster and much more scalable.

In the past, scambaiting meant a real person had to sit there typing every email or talking through every phone call, which could take up hours just to waste a scammer's time. Now, AI chatbots can hold long conversations automatically, pretending to be confused, overly trusting, or just plain slow, exactly what scammers hope for. This means one scambaiter can tie up multiple scammers at once without even needing to be there the whole time.

Overall, AI makes scambaiting more powerful, less time-consuming, and more creative but it also raises new challenges, like making sure the bait still feels human enough to fool increasingly smart scammers.

Ethical Scambaiting Considerations

When it comes to scambaiting, there are important ethical considerations because, while the goal is to fight scammers, scambaiters can easily cross lines that make their actions questionable or even illegal.

First, privacy and legality are big concerns. If a scambaiter tricks a scammer into revealing personal information, that's usually fair game for exposing the scam. But if the scambaiter hacks into a scammer's computer, installs malware, or spies on them without consent, that crosses into illegal hacking, which is no better than the tactics scammers use.

Another issue is intent and harm. Ethical scambaiters aim to waste scammers' time and protect others, not to cause physical or emotional harm. Going too far, like threatening scammers or interfering with their families or innocent bystanders, moves away from justice and into revenge, which can damage the scambaiter's credibility and even lead to unintended consequences.

Misidentification is also a risk. Sometimes, people can mistakenly think someone is a scammer when they're not. If a scambaiter exposes or humiliates the wrong person online, it can ruin innocent lives.

Finally, there's the question of transparency and accountability. Unlike official authorities, scambaiters don't have oversight. Their work can be valuable, but without clear ethical boundaries, it's easy for vigilante justice to become personal vendetta which doesn't help anyone in the long run.

Scambaiting is a hands-on way to fight back against online fraud, blending cybersecurity skills, social engineering tactics, and public education. It helps disrupt scam operations and shields potential victims, but scambaiters must tread carefully to stay within ethical and legal boundaries. As technology advances, both scammers and those working to stop them will continue to adapt their strategies, keeping this digital battle constantly evolving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is scambaiting illegal?

Scambaiting itself isn't automatically illegal, but it really depends on how far someone goes while doing it. Laws also vary depending on the country. Some places have strict rules around cybersecurity, privacy, and impersonation, and even good intentions aren't enough to excuse breaking those laws.

Does scambaiting stop scams?

Scambaiting doesn't completely stop scams, but it does slow them down and make a real difference.

When scambaiters waste a scammer's time, that's time the scammer can't spend scamming real victims. If enough scambaiters tie up enough scammers, it can seriously hurt the scammers' productivity and cost them money. Some scambaiters also expose scams to the public and warn people how the scams work, which helps people spot scams faster and avoid getting tricked.

In bigger cases, like the work of people such as Jim Browning, scambaiting can even gather evidence that leads to police raids or call centers being shut down. So in that way, it can actually disrupt or end some scam operations.

But scams are a huge, worldwide problem. New scammers pop up all the time, and not every operation can be stopped with scambaiting alone. It slows the spread, protects people, and makes scams harder to run, but it's not enough to eliminate scams completely.

What are the downsides to scambaiting?

Scambaiting has some real downsides, even though it can do a lot of good. One big problem is that it can backfire. If a scambaiter makes a mistake, like revealing personal information or getting too involved, they could accidentally put themselves at risk, either by getting hacked in return or by becoming a bigger target for scammers seeking revenge.

There's also the fact that it can escalate scams. Some scammers, especially the organized ones, might learn from scambaiters and get smarter, making scams harder to spot in the future.

Scambaiting doesn't fix the root problem, it only slows scams down, but it doesn't erase the reasons scams exist (like poverty, weak law enforcement, or easy access to targets online). Without bigger solutions, scamming will keep coming back, no matter how many scammers are baited.