I've talked quite a bit about how to avoid scammers here, but have you ever thought about fighting back against the scammers? One of my favorite podcast episodes is an old episode of ReplyAll where the host gets contacted by a scammer in India and he goes on an epic quest to find out exactly what's going on with this particular scam. It's really interesting and also pretty entertaining. I was delighted to discover there are also YouTubers who are fighting back against scammers. Here are some of the best YouTube channels that fight back scammers.
ScammerPayback
One of the most popular YouTube channels that fights back scammers is ScammerPayback. This channel is hosted by a guy who goes by Pierogi. He is a former cybersecurity specialist, and he started his channel by essentially prank calling scammers to waste their time (and of course, get some laughs). But he has also started up a program called "People's Call Center." In the People's Call Center, Pierogi and other scam baters get together and start fighting back against the scammers by wasting their time but also by helping out people who are actively being scammed. The center sets up a bunch of fake computers, fake bank accounts, and other materials, so the scammers think they're actually getting something.
And of course, it's all recorded, so not only is their time wasted, but they also get exposed.
Jim Browning
Jim Browning is another popular YouTube channel that fights back scammers. Jim (not his real name) is a software engineer from Northern Ireland who runs investigations into scammers by breaking into the networks used by the scammers and also exposing them in other ways. He started his channel after a family member lost money to one of these scams. He has been featured by the BBC, the New York Times, and other major media. He's also been featured by the AARP, and a lot of his videos can be good to share with family members who you worry might be at risk of being taken in by these kinds of scammers.
SkeletonSyskey
SkeletonSyskey has done quite a bit of work with Jim Browning over the years and focuses a lot on Tech Support, IRS, and SSA scams. He is located in the United Kingdom and has gotten some pretty hilarious reactions from scammers. He has videos of keeping scammers on the phone for over three hours, only to have them angrily ending the call after they realize that the tables have been turned and they have been scammed themselves!
ScammerRevolts
ScammerRevolts is a smaller channel, but no less entertaining. He has plenty of videos of getting scammers locked out of their own computers, figuring out their exact location, and even one where he shows a scammer a photo of himself! Obviously, the scammers don't like being identified, and the hope is that the people working for these larger scam companies get scared enough to quit these "jobs."
Read More:
- This Is How QR Codes Are Being Used To Scam People
- Four Ways to Spot an Impersonator Scammer
- 5 Tips To Protect Older Relatives From Online Scams