Scammer Payback Answers Scam Questions | Tech Support | WIRED

[@ScammerPayback]

Thank you for having us on!! Don't get scammed!!

[@TheFlyingTesla]

I was not expecting this crossover but it was awesome

[@somethingoluf]

wow

[@jessicahussey]

This is amazing. I'm so proud of you Pierogi

[@carleeblake381]

So proud of you! Thank you for educating the most vulnerable❤️💜🩷

[@gus473]

🫡 A true hero and genuine entertainer! Thanks for your public service! 😎✌️

[@psubymarr]

My elderly mother fell for the "Microsoft Update Needed" call this number. . . she frustrated the scammer so much by her lack of computer skills that he was in tears and told her that "she shouldn't own a computer". He got no where with her and I'm grateful for her lack of skills.

[@eeen4119]

The irony was that he was right😂😂

[@nh7680]

Thank you for this story lmao

[@aimeeabbott7079]

😂😂😂😂

[@drawnwithlove3499]

More like the scammers fell for her 😭

[@justforphone1318]

😂😂😂😂😂 good for her😂😂😂

[@SheilaMoraes_]

i had a teacher who lost her mom to the "grandma scram". they said 'we have your daughter, send us money' and she had a heart attack. that breaks my heart.

[@FuryMcpurey]

oh no... I'm so sorry for her loss.

[@justsomeone612]

oh my gosh!!! i'm so sorry. :0(

[@antionnella1938]

That sounds awful! how can someone do that :(

[@world4saker]

my mother got a scam saying I was in jail and needed money but i was having lunch with her so I made the keep it going to waste their time. by the end it was a whole hour and she did the whole hold on a minute passed me the phone and I told them I was the son they called about and yelled and hung up

[@KSLucid]

probably some indian

[@dbul2542]

My grandmother is so paranoid about senior scams she’s hung up on me when I didn’t identify myself quickly enough 😂

[@FirebladesSong]

Better that than the alternative!

[@tomasneufeld1287]

Better safe than sorry 😂

[@Lufia4]

Good on her!

[@gamecokben]

Good. You've trained her well.

[@vibrantgleam]

I DON'T BLAME HER THOUGH.

[@CAASi-The-Artist]

I love that he didn’t encourage anyone to become a scammer vigilante.

[@davewills7436]

It's a dangerous thing if you don't know what you're doing.

[@One.Zero.One101]

It takes technical knowledge to fake your IP, your email, your phone number, and to set up a virtual machine. Someone who doesn't know this might get scammed themselves or doxxed.

[@emdotrod]

Pierogi, Jim Browning, and Kitboga are legends among the scambaiters.

[@-Cube]

The three horsemen of India’s demise

[@mecharoo]

scammerrevolts as well. he also provokes them by calling them benchod and chutia

[@emdotrod]

@@mecharoo He's also my favorite scambaiter because a lot of scammer haven't recognize him

[@SepticEmpire]

Jim Browning is a computer god. Bro can probably hack any country and access all nuclear codes and start ww3 but he decided to be a good guy and completely destroy scammers. Which in of itself is a war.

[@ryboi1337]

Kitboga only trolls scammers. He doesn't prevent scams or help victims.

[@ashurean]

Fun trick my grandma came up with to figure out if someone calling pretending to be me or claiming to be calling on my behalf is a scammer. She asks "what arm is his tattoo on". Now, I don't have any tattoos, so unless the response is "I don't/he doesn't have any", she knows it's a scam and can either keep them on the line to mess with or just hang up. It works pretty well because unlike hair or eye color, tattoos aren't usually publicly available info.

[@UserAccount-ThisOne]

thats actually genius, i hope your grandma doesnt mind if i steal that and give it to my family members as well

[@KosstAmojan]

My mom is lucky enough to be somewhat savvy to scammers, and she did something similar with a family-trouble scammer. First she intentionally misnamed a relative, and then she assured him everything would be find and asked how much in gift cards she needed to buy. The scammer immediately hung up 🤣🤣

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

This is good, but indees there's wriggle room for that response about not having any tattoos. I'd recommend she instead change it to, "What type of tattoo do you/they have? It's really big snd obvious." Add that last part so they can't say that they don't know.

[@goosefight]

@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley oh yes. bonus if you ask both "what type" and "where", just to really get them in a twist.

[@kevinm1734]

​@UserAccount-ThisOne "I hope she doesn't mind"... Nah she patented her scammer system and is gonna charge you royalties to use it

[@RichardZbranek]

How I deal with scammers in 3 steps. 1 - speak very quietly, so they crank up their volume 2 - put the phone on the kitchen table, cover it with a big stainless steel bowl 3 - start banging on the bowl with a spoon It is super effective.

[@Dm3qXY]

might be somewhat annoying, but your years will hear much more of that noise than what technology can put across, especially since the sound gets compressed and normalized, losing dynamic range... when we will get "4K HDR for sound" , that approach could be more valid

[@xeniaandbcn]

I will actually try this one out

[@Dm3qXY]

@@xeniaandbcn don't be silly, read my comment

[@w4rf4rousd4ng3rous]

Sounds fun, Imma try this one out too

[@itohan8725]

😂

[@ALWTunes]

I'm glad you gave Pierogi a decent bit of time to cover a lot of information. This is a really huge problem and it's sad how many lives are ruined by these scammers.

[@Zinovad]

The problem is that most of the people who need to see this, elderlies, will never find this kid of video. Assuming they even go on KZbin. That's why it's important to teach your parents and grand parents about AI and scams.

[@Nick-mp1zh]

"If you want to get more spam, respond to them" followed by "I actually have someone trying to scam call me right now" was absolutely beautiful.

[@katurahbobo1654]

Does that include the unsubscribe button?

[@elainebelzDetroit]

At a former job, we had some scammer(s) pretending to be our boss sending us emails asking us to buy gift cards. My coworker replied to one, saying, "OK, I got the gift card. It's on your chair in your office!"

[@OlaRozenfeld]

I'm totally stealing this one, lol!

[@fullfungo]

@@OlaRozenfeldstealing is illegal! Don’t do it!

[@Stampyboyz]

@@fullfungowho gonna stop us? You?

[@diablo.the.cheater]

@@Stampyboyz No, I WILL! You have been stopped, for the length you were reading this, you might continue afterwards.

[@KayOhh-v1f]

@@diablo.the.cheater WHY’D YOU STOP WRITING?!

[@lydiannalima2284]

About 15 years ago my dad got a call at 2 am, someone crying and screaming in the background, and they say: we have your daughter, you need to give us money. He said he didn't have any money, and they replied that I was saying he did have money. He then realized it was a scam, because I knew he was broke 😂

[@maddyc2412]

Too real 😅😅

[@bubtb-yl8lu]

How does the scammer payback guy get access to the scammer's computer though?

[@MichellePondueCruz]

Stupidity. ​@@bubtb-yl8lu

[@lurrielee2755]

​@@bubtb-yl8luIt's okay, I know watching a video while sitting in one place and remembering to breathe through your nose is really hard. Here you go: 20:40

[@zero1234-mg8rx]

reverse connection

[@tonyclemens4213]

I usually speak French to scammers, most of the time they just hang up. Had one who got angry and told me to go back to school and learn English

[@aster___4103]

Love this 🤣🤣🤣

[@SparkleLuna77]

Oh this is hilarious. I only know a tiny bit of German so I might try this. Start asking ‘where is the bus stop?’ ‘When is the train to Bonn?’ 😂

[@lukasmarks6504]

​@@SparkleLuna77 "Ich kann Sie nicht verstehen" is pretty handy, when they know a bit of german as well. It's basically "I can't understand you". They'll probably either give up or get louder 😂

[@peachfang]

oh i am SO doing this. you dont even have to be fluent. you could go full duolingo beginner like "the boy eats rice and his mother has an elephant who reads newspapers to birds with sandwiches" and if they dont speak the language they cant tell the difference.

[@fecchitheillustrator]

I honestly don't get scam calls but If i do i will try this out as well 😂

[@TwRex0410]

I remember getting job offers that were basically, "all you have to do is receive a package, put a new label on it and ship it. We'll pay $100/wk". Seemed sketchy to me at the time, only a few years later I realized they were actively recruiting unknowing mules for scams.

[@pepaw]

A primary issue, as I see it, is we use ambiguous language such as ‘It probably is a scam’. We should just use absolutes; if you are talking to a celebrity on fb it is a scam. If someone wants payment via gift card; it is a scam. Here is the best advice I give people: do not answer your phone, do not view text messages, do not click links in emails. Period.

[@modrozelenaalga9607]

That advice kinda sounds like a trailer for a horror/slasher movie.

[@smileyp4535]

Well you can click links if you know the person but make sure to contact them another way if it's fishy at all because you can spoof contact numbers now

[@PitLord777]

Do not use public WiFis, do not use the Internet, do not talk to people...

[@fieryweasel]

Lots of these scams say things like "your friend is in jail and needs to be bailed out". Joke's on them, I have no friends!

[@ImprovementZoneOfTirth]

I don't know how I feel about that statement. Is it funny or is it sad?

[@nmrnm137]

If my friends got put into jail, they're there for a reason and ain't no way I'm bailing them out. This is the code.

[@ImprovementZoneOfTirth]

@@nmrnm137 yep. If they did wrong. They did wrong.

[@diggity1039]

Don't forget about horrible spelling and grammar.

[@lji_btrfly]

Jokes on them, I don't have any money.

[@answer5092]

Any person online who says they'll help you get your money back after a scam is probably a scammer too.

[@sunsetshadow]

100%

[@justsomeone612]

*IS* a scammer.

[@Notkalas]

Makes sense. I mean if you fell for a scam once odds are you can be suckered in a second time too.

[@ratboygirl]

yeah those are called recovery scams and they target previous victims because they're more likely to fall for it again

[@MasteredMagic]

Scammer payback has actually done this for people

[@DudeWatIsThis]

I know a guy whose company got scammed by 2 million dollars. His team identified the source of the scam to have been in Hong Kong, and several lawyers flew there, _to the scam place,_ and managed to get the Hong Kong police involved. They managed to get the money wired back.

[@PlebNC]

You could say: *sunglasses on* They filed a cease and desist. They rendered the scammers, null and void. Third legal pun here.

[@explodedglue5509]

​@@PlebNC nice

[@LetterToGodFromMeToYou]

This sounds like a fake story made up by an Indian dude to try to put the blame on Hong Kong. A team of lawyers flew to some other country to deal with scammers to get the money back legally under a different legal system? Yeah - sure they did buddy.

[@sjjs444]

That's impressive!

[@justamanofculture12]

They hired Vincenzo Cassano 😂............

[@Luminousplayer]

The biggest red flag is customer service calling YOU, they never are the first to call if you have an issue, if you have an issue you should always be the one that calls

[@chloescat]

This is one of the best Wired videos I've watched in ages. I love ScammerPayback's channel and seeing those scammers getting their comeuppance.

[@winklenator]

As a former banker, listen to a bank employee if they're telling you that you're falling for a scam. I once had a client who went against my advice. She used to be an accountant and was adamant she was investing in someone. She ended up wiring out $60k and ended up apologizing me for doubting. Bankers are trained regularly to identify these scams

[@Ollig999]

It’s quite sad because FIs legally can’t stop these transactions if the consumer authorizes them (not that they have liability anyway), and scammers will often convince people that people at the financial institution are the bad guys or can’t be trusted

[@HaggenKennedy]

@@Ollig999 and @winklenator - you guys are absolutely correct. I have family members who've fallen for this, and this is exactly how it all went down. And it was a lot more than $60K.

[@Vendrix86]

she should be nowhere near numbers.

[@NateLeonhart]

You'd think an accountant would know better than to invest that much money into someone they haven't even met or have directly seen the accounts of.

[@Teddyiscute]

And cashiers too! 🙋🏻‍♀️

[@izzatihassan1475]

Getting a scam call right when youre making a video PSA about scam calls is just the cherry on the cake. Best video lmao

[@katherinerichardson2273]

that wasn't real

[@djlondon7956]

OMG you CYNIC 😂​@@katherinerichardson2273

[@Kirmeins]

@@katherinerichardson2273 who cares if it was real? It was hilarious either way. :D

[@creativecraving]

I get 10-20 scam calls per day and if I answer one, I get 10-20 per day for a few days. He easily could've set up a phone which was likely to receive a spam call within an hour or two hour period.

[@antonio2d695]

The fact that the background guys are heard laughing so much makes this video legendary

[@sammorpls]

RIGHT HAHAHHAHA then him "I enjoy this too much"

[@bubtb-yl8lu]

How does the scammer payback guy get access to the scammer's computer though?

[@Ranganation]

@@bubtb-yl8luSame way the scammers do.

[@philip7kelly]

they are laughing at this tools hair

[@HisMajestyKingPantoniusDSecond]

@@bubtb-yl8lu they give access of their computers to scammers. If the two computers are connected, they run a reverse connection using codes which also gives them access to scammer’s computer. The computer used by scambaiters runs a Virtual PC, think of it as a “computer inside a computer.” So scammers can’t really do anything about what they can access on your computer because it’s all fake information.

[@JasonT850]

I just saw a video yesterday about an elderly lady who happened to be a retired 911 operator and the scammer was trying to convince her to give them money. She contacted the police and they set up a sting because the person was going to come over and collect the money personally. So she ended up giving the scammer a fake envelope and as soon as he stepped off of her porch, the police tackled him.

[@vindiKADE]

THANK YOU! When the Cloud first came out, I was talking to a younger coworker (who I didnt realize was younger) and he used the word "convenient" when referring to the Cloud. As a millennial, convenient is NOT a good thing. If it's convenient for you, it's convenient for them.

[@flux6472]

I worked at a bank in the customer service department. I had to leave because of the amount of people that got scammed, sometimes I was lucky and they called before they got scammed but it sucked when it was an older person and their retirement was taken and were now broke :(

[@sunbleachedangel]

Man, that's heartbreaking

[@vampziiiee]

What do they do for those types of cases?

[@kentreed2011]

​@@vampziiieeNothing. Their money is now in an entirely diffent country or transformed into untraceable cryptocurrency.

[@Lulu_Catnaps]

​@vampziiiee there's very little you can do if it's bitcoin or gift cards

[@flux6472]

@@vampziiiee If someone gave gift cards or sent money via a personal money app we will put in a claim but basically told it wont get refunded as those are the same as giving a gift. Sometimes it will be refunded but the scammers no what to do to make it so you wont get it back or at least so they cant lose the money.

[@eusta_mae_cmewsick]

A friend of mine keeps falling for several of these. Even after I tell her again and again that they're scams, she doesn't believe me and keeps happily giving away her card number and making payments she can't afford. I think this is a great video and it should be required viewing for everyone in the world.

[@jeaniebird999]

Is there any way you can suggest your friend seek therapy? They have a problem.

[@camronbitzer3159]

What's your friend's name and phone number??

[@greentoby26]

The problem's eventually going to solve itself. There's only so much money you can give away to scammers.

[@gibusmibus9468]

@@greentoby26 i dont think going broke is a good solution, it is a solution, not a good one

[@U_the_artist]

Survival of the most intelligent.

[@SchindlersFiist]

It’s awesome that he’s here on Wired! I’ve been a fan of his channel and watching for years-loves it!

[@jessicas2379]

same same! It is a great day when he uploads.

[@fabian6087]

We need more of these kinds of videos, being informed is the best way to not get scammed. Thank you for making this.

[@ViraIshnia]

My grandmother got one of those "your son is in trouble and you need to pay his fine" scams. Which knowing my uncle, him getting in trouble with the cops isn't hard to believe. While my grandmother is on the phone with the scammer, they start getting mad (or acting mad maybe). My grandmother takes offense to this and calls the scammer out on their rudeness and says that they're not behaving very professionally. The scammer tries to double down and say that they'll send someone to arrest her. My grandmother finds that rude as well and hangs up on them. After what happened sinks in, she calls my dad in a panic and tells him what happened, 100% believing cops are on their way to arrest her. Dad assures her that that was a scam and no one is coming to arrest her. She's not as trusting of strangers calling her anymore

[@notmenotme614]

If a scammer said they’re sending someone over to arrest me. The first thing I’d do is ask them “So, what is my address??? Because if you don’t know where I live, you’re screwed”.

[@Werumo]

My dad doesn't know how to use his phone properly and one day he saw part of a message on his lock screen about an issue with a bill. He didn't know how to access his messages so he couldn't read the full message so he ended up ringing the number of the actual company and they immediately told him it was a scam.

[@janinasaam]

He got lucky

[@vb8801]

Hopefully he only has a basic cellphone, and not a smartphone with internet access.

[@riley_from_boondocks23]

What’s your dad’s name and number?

[@xliquidflames]

The best advice he gave was to the person wanting to do what he does. If you aren't confident that you can keep yourself protected, you should not try to do what he's doing. If you are worried about it or aren't confident, it means you don't know enough about infosec to keep your real information out of their hands. So, don't do it until you've studied up. Also realize that nothing is perfectly secure. Even he would probably admit that. Doing what he does comes with inherent risk that cannot be 100% mitigated. You can be the best security expert in the world and still inadvertently leave something exposed. Or, you could expose your info in ways that are completely out of your control like faulty hardware or software. Doing what he does comes with accepting that risk, regardless of how knowledgeable you are and how good your security is. If you're not confident you know what you're doing and/or if you aren't okay accepting the risk, do not try to do what he's doing.

[@EspyMelly]

As with anything dangerous, if you think you know what you're doing, you don't know what you're doing.

[@magicdolphin3090]

​@@EspyMelly...?

[@EspyMelly]

@@magicdolphin3090 When someone says "I think I know what I'm doing" it means they don't have complete confidence in their skills/knowledge.

[@kyuubinaruto17]

@@magicdolphin3090 I think they're alluding to the Dunning-Krueger effect?

[@galaxyanimal]

Jim Browning (another scambaiter) delted his KZbin channel following a scammer's directions.

[@amybeth323]

When my dad was in the hospital for a week, the phone kept ringing, but everyone we needed to talk to had our cells. So we never answered the phone because it was always scams. I got bored one day and answered the phone and messed with them, playing really stupid and not following directions. My dad’s room was right outside the nurses’ station and they heard everything I said. They were laughing. I was glad I could entertain them for a minute or two.

[@jackabug2475]

I sometimes string scammers along for as long as I (and my wife) can stand it, on the principle that any minute they're trying to scam me is a minute they can't be scamming someone who might fall for it. One time, after I finally revealed that I knew it was a scam all along and told the scammer he should be ashamed of himself, he threatened to come to my house and r*pe my whole family. I thought that was an unrealistic threat at the time, but after watching this video, I'm no longer so sure... (In case anyone is worried, that was years ago and nobody in my family has been assaulted since.)

[@gonzalesrafael22]

Didn't know who this guy was, instantly judged, went through an entire character arch journey with him in my head as I watched the video, and now can say I want more of this guy. Great content again. Love these wired.

[@AlabasterAlabaster-p9g]

You don’t know the bloke he’s been shunned by his own community after they called him out for having a bit on the side despite always going on about being loyal to his wife. He also encouraged people in his Discord to get plastered, only to start chatting up women in there himself trying to start up relationships with them!

[@dearGOD101]

@@AlabasterAlabaster-p9g Did he bait u bro?😂

[@fieryvale]

Lol. Clearly someone's a little salty. Pierogi's not that kind of guy.

[@robinlee1032]

@@AlabasterAlabaster-p9gare you an ai????

[@AdaminaCarden]

The funniest marketplace scam/ bot I had was on an ad I put up for a roommate and they started with the generic "Is this available?" etc. And then it was "Can I pick it up?" to which my response was "They room? I don't know, how strong are you?"

[@nailsofinterest]

😂

[@Orcawhale1]

But what's so funny about that? You are responding to a automated message. Which is exactly what the guy just said, you shouldn't do.

[@OceanMan-ff2lh]

@@Orcawhale1 Too late now lol

[@swilleh_]

​@@Orcawhale1it's definitely being recorded.

[@Hannah-u]

My grandma got scammed out of $5,000 by someone who called pretending to be my brother in a Mexican prison looking for bail money. She said he was crying and said “please don’t tell my mom just send the money!” As he said a very common scam but they couldn’t get the money back. Made me so furious!

[@Hannah-u]

Also worth mentioning my grandma is still quite mentally sound and still got tricked. I’m in my 20s and one time accidentally gave my DOB and address to a scammer pretending to be my bank and only figured out it was a scam when they asked for my social. They can be veryyyy sneaky!

[@trust_hack444]

​@@Hannah-uhave you been able to get any assistance on how to get them tracked and get your money back?

[@Hannah-u]

@@trust_hack444 this happened a few years ago and we were never able to get the money back. I believe my family contacted the FTC

[@vb8801]

​@@trust_hack444 don't suppose you can offer any assistance with that? 😂 "trust_hack444" 😂

[@meiangoh5129]

can't understand how scammers got the guts to scam especially elders 😭

[@KelMonstah]

If you're buying things on something like Craigslist, Facebook, etc, and it's a smaller item - many police departments recommend doing the hand-off in the lobby of your local police station. If the person isn't willing to meet there, there's likely a reason. Several PD's in northern Washington and southern British Columbia recommend this especially for electronics.

[@derekspringer6448]

Man... I've never once scammed someone or even thought about it. But if someone asked me to meet them at the police station I think that'd weird me out anyway lol.

[@fssstyuniaf]

​@derekspringer6448 I mean yeah. It would be a really weird request to casually sell something online. I'd probably find it somewhat funny though and do it anyway

[@Rvbcaboose714]

​​@@derekspringer6448 it was rly just for Xbox/PS5 sales those posts were floating around lol no one is asking to meet at the local PD to buy a $7 spatula

[@em84c]

I bought lots of stuff of FB marketplace. You usually don't get scammed in person. They will give an excuse that the exchange can't happen in person

[@Heeyitsmika]

thats the freaking point. ​@@em84c

[@RyRyTheBassGuy]

I was at Best Buy one day and an elderly man was buying a bunch of Xbox gift cards. I was too far away to hear what was going on, but it was obvious the cashier was worried that he was getting scammed. He even called his manager over to talk to him. They ended up selling him the cards, so hopefully they were just for his grandchildren.

[@arunbiswas000]

Back in India, my first job was at a small call center. This was around 2011 and the pay was going to be 7000 rupees/month which at that time was around $150. They claimed that their client was a US based Insurance company and we will be responsible for selling their products to US Customers. After a few days of taking calls, I realized it was a scam and they were targetting mainly old aged people living by themselves or at retirement homes. I left the job next day itself. I worked there for a 7 days in total including training period. The only job that beats it is the time I worked as a dish washer for a restaurant and I left in 2 days because they didn't provide safety gloves and apron for staff.

[@matthewhartman7176]

Ask yourself this: If they offered you more pay, even great pay, would you have kept doing the job even knowing it was harming others? Be honest. Because I think your honesty helps people understand how these things materialize and how people like yourself get sucked in.

[@davewills7436]

Morals over money always.

[@XxlargemanxX]

DUDE YESS!!! This guy is fighting all the people targeting our parents and grandparents, these scammers are disgusting and this guy exposes them and harasses them and makes their scamming job all the more difficult!

[@scottlarson1548]

I once made the mistake of messing with a scammer on my cell phone. For about two weeks after that the scambag spoofed my cell number on all of his scam calls so for two weeks I had dozens of people calling me back after he left hundreds of voicemails. I was able to tell most callers that it was a scam but some people actually thought I was the scammer and were not very understanding.

[@OriginalGlorfindel]

I had a woman that was absolutely convinced I had called her husband, was irate about calling her man. Tried to explain how spoofing works, that I had no outgoing calls, and never called her number, ever. She refused to believe it. Her poor husband.

[@MorbidEel]

that happened to me once despite never interacting with any scammer. Could have just been a coincidence.

[@wintergray1221]

I had something similar happen. Some rando college or high school student left a dozen messages threatening me. I ended up having to send a screenshot of my inbound/outbound to get her to back off.

[@KZesty]

My number was spoofed for two YEARS. I had to change my voicemail to let people know about it and to stop calling me back. It was awful

[@Hummerbird99]

The best advice he gave is don't engage at all with the scammers. Let the pros like him do it , it's too dangerous. Also I think he should dye is beard blue too.

[@K.C-2049]

his beard has that salt and pepper rizz, it's on point just as it is lol

[@darkhorse505]

Thank you pierogi and thank you wired for hosting this video. I've already shared this video with people who might need it. Spread the word. Keep your loved ones safe.

[@allysonchavez1090]

I freaking died at the video of SP editing that scammers email with his own photo and info. Absolutely hysterical🤣🤣🤣

[@DOC_951]

Kitboga Scammer Payback Scammer Revolts Pleasant Green All my favorite content! Congrats on making it to WIRED. Truly a legend! Bringing so much awareness to the general population, keep it up 💪🏻

[@vasekkosar3931]

A good one is Nanobaiter as well. The kid's like 17 and already doing such a great job. He actually works with Pirogi as well

[@kindlin]

Jim Browning is like the OG scam baiter.

[@OmnipotentO]

Jim Browning

[@TheLadyp1214]

Also Scam Sandwich. Mrwn and Vicky and Benji.

[@diabeticsrule1763]

My grandpa got one of those scams claiming to be my cousin who lives out of state saying he was in jail and needed money. My grandpa was just like, "why are you calling me, call your mom" lol. Yes, we had a conversation about scams after that but i think we don't have to worry about him actually sending money

[@mik8592-x4j]

Love that for grandpa hahaha

[@Unabonger420]

12:38 also, a lot of software that will do batched outbound dialing can dial dozens of numbers simultaneously. When someone picks up, the software transfers the call to a live person which could cause that huge red flag of me saying hello two or three times before someone responds. When you get that, it's almost always a scammer.

[@nailsofinterest]

*if* I answer I will only say hello once maybe twice, if I'm expecting a call.

[@gwendolineknox784]

If I do pick up, I just listen. If someone doesn't speak, I put the phone down. (If it was mistakenly a friend for example they would call back immediately saying "what happened there, we must have been cut off)

[@Danny30011980]

More than scammers cursing you I enjoy hearing them panic in the background in their own language, thinking you don't understand what they are saying or accessing their webcams and telling them what they look like, what they wear, what the room looks like or their location. Or the one where you sent the scammer photo to victims. Brilliant!

[@jp-ny2pd]

I knew someone who ran a wifi hot spot when he travelled to collect user data and email it back to them saying "Don't use public wifi". It was like watching a roaming disaster zone everywhere he walked.

[@Zergdragon]

The most sad thing is every one of these non-automated scam callers have the same accent. You know the one. And that hurts the reputation of normal everyday people whose only crime is sharing a national ancestry. Just remember the people behind counters where you conduct business are very rarely the same people with the time to throw out scam calls. Befriend your local customer servants. Hand them the phone on speaker when a scam call comes. Embrace that chaos, enjoy life.

[@FlamRackett]

Thanks to you and the other scam-baiters for what you do. Not only entertaining us, but for educating

[@ElmundotheGreat]

My Mum and Dad got scammed by a very advanced scam. They had all details of their cards, sad really cause I would've loved to be given a chance to defend them, we as a family are poor n proud. Thanks Dudes for the service!!!!!!!!!

[@DillonTrinhProductions]

poor n proud?

[@ElmundotheGreat]

@@DillonTrinhProductions Yeh I mean Its called dignity, my dad taught psychology my mum helped kids with problems. I laboured for a building yard.

[@1HPSmurf]

This guy even learned Hindi to cuss out those scammers in their own language. The guy's dedication is awesome. 😂😂😂

[@AlabasterAlabaster-p9g]

He had a translator, but all they ever taught him was swear words - never bothered to pick up anything else! Go on, watch his live streams, it’s all he knows. You'll see.

[@Ox5f3759df]

Great suggestion on the authenticator apps. We're even getting more sophisticated where instead of entering that code, the app receives a "push" that you respond to when trying to authenticate. Same principle as to why that is better than a text OTP, but even harder to be compromised. For example, we see scams where someone pretending to be tech support can still ask for that code in your authenticator app - not a possibility with a push.

[@crystalfudalik6977]

Love that this came up, I've been battling for weeks with Amazon about my account being hacked and I'm blocked out. Many phone calls later and it's still not resolved, and in the meantime my family and I are all waiting for new credit and debit cards. I really hope this person gets in trouble!

[@kimkimsan]

The grandma scam almost happened to my mom 2 years ago. She was out of the country visiting my sister, and I had just spoken with her and told her I was getting ready to head over to my grandmother's house. About 30 minutes after we hung up, my sister called me asking me where I was. I told her I hadn't left the house yet, and then I hear her tell my mom, "Hang up the phone. She's fine." Apparently (coincidentally), the scammers called her after we hung up and told her, "It's the police and your daughter was involved. She's not injured, but the other party is and they're part of a Mexican cartel." This is when my sister realized it seemed sketch, and thankfully had the foresight to call me to verify I was good because they were trying to get my mom to forward them $10K to get me out of my "jam." These ppl are evil.

[@tanadarko6991]

Some hero's have blue hair. After my divorce, in my mid 40's I got on a dating app for the first time. FIRST GUY was a catfish! The profile started off as a person but by day 2 it was AI. So weird and creepy. I caught on very quickly but it was a lesson learned.

[@leto-nl]

I got scammed and then followed pierogys channel. It really helped me heal. hes a hero in my book

[@craigritchie8470]

I just got the Missed Jury Summons call the other day. Very well done. He had my old address and the address of a house that I’m currently building. Very persistent too. Despite hanging up several times he called back. I told him I would just come to the sheriff’s office and he said I’d get arrested if I did. I just laughed and hung up. He finally gave up.

[@anirbanbardhan4272]

As an Indian myself, thank you. To Jim, and to Granny Kit as well.

[@friyeamen9579]

🤔You're Oné Of Them Too 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@JustATad26]

This man is a modern day hero.

[@fentanylek]

He is not. I tried contacting him everywhere so I can help him, volunteer or stuff and he ignored me everywhere. He didnt even reply

[@reapimuhs]

@@fentanylek he probably gets countless amounts of messages on various platforms, it's unrealistic to expect him to be able to read through and reply to every single one.

[@fentanylek]

@@reapimuhs yeah because it would be so hard to find a minute i 2 years since i sent him this messages to just tell me if he is gonna expand his team or not.

[@reapimuhs]

@@fentanylek the length of time doesn't matter, especially when it is likely very easy that it got buried in the numerous amounts of messages he has gotten. He only has so much time he can dedicate to a task like reading messages.

[@dyingofdioxide]

@@fentanylek you might have a parasocial relationship, this guy doesn't know you and doesn't owe you anything, I hope you can recognise that it's unhealthy

[@FluffyBunnySlippers]

This needs to be a course in college

[@atricewarner5705]

Scammers make me physically sick.

[@daixay4585]

I’m so glad this guy is on our side. I can’t ever imagine going against this guy.

[@carolinasflores]

1:58 here in brazil a woman was scammed by a guy pretending to be a famous korean actor, she used to sent him like 800 dollars per day (5.000 reais), until the day she had to sent him 7.000 dollars (45.000 reais). it's so sad to see especially women (mostly divorced/never married middle aged) being targeted by scammers because they truly fell for them, just like that one netflix documentary the tinder swindler

[@trust_hack444]

I think I can help her

[@nickashton6754]

It's not that crazy that it happens it's crazy how often it happens and works

[@matthewhartman7176]

One needs to ask themselves why an apparent famous actor needs money in the first place.

[@BingQilin]

"Lee Min-Ho needs me! To the bank!"

[@notmenotme614]

@@matthewhartman7176 And why would a famous actor who doesn’t know you and never met you before, ask you for help and not someone else?

[@DeviceExisting1420]

These scammers are evil cause they target the elderly.

[@travisscholes6588]

They target the vulnerable, usually elderly people

[@Elliana2002]

They are evil for a list of reasons but yep

[@SpamMouse]

They target anyone with money !

[@normalchannel2185]

They are evil because they scam people. Double evil because they target the weak

[@ChicagoWosu]

I watch Criminal Minds but not Beyond the border; I wish they did a show where Nigerians made a packed to go to other countries to murder or poison the husband, the rich husband and keep the wife alive if they knew about insurance policy and maybe a widow wife will be on a computer to look for a date

[@ndtcssh]

My favourite thing to do when scammers call me is just mash a random button on the key pad. Imagine how annoying the beeps are on their end😂 they hang up within seconds every time 💁🏼‍♀️

[@mrs.johnwinchester420]

Surprisingly, lots of what I learned about scamming while working as a cashier for a casino really translates into phone calls pretty well. I know how to spot scam emails, texts, actual money, etc because they had us stay up to date on all the tea to keep their casino’s money safe. Stay safe guys!!

[@joelchambers6326]

IT pro of 26 years here... when he says stop using SMS for your MFA, seriously, stop that. It's sooooooooo easy to intercept text messages, or get them routed, and even spoofing your SIM card if they truly want into your stuff. Using an authenticator app like Microsoft or Google Authenticator at minimum or things like DUO on the higher end, that all works with encrypted codes and TOTP algorithms to make sure it can't be simply intercepted, and most of the GOOD authenticator apps now have a 3-digit verification code built into the auth procedure so that a bad actor would need to be able to punch in that code on your phone directly in order to authorize a sign-in. SMS was great as MFA for like a decade, but it's child's play to get around now. This video has a lot of great tips I tell my clients on the daily. Maybe I'll just start sending them a link to this, lol.

[@combatcritique]

Indian government desperately needs to do something to solve the scammer problem. It's been a cause of international shame and embarrassment

[@justarandompotato6272]

Fix the corruption first, then they can fix the scammer issue.

[@combatcritique]

@@justarandompotato6272 fr (Im an Indian btw)

[@normalchannel2185]

Ironically the strong education system is a big issue. Creates shite ton of unemployment for HIGHLY overqualified workers (like Doctorates can't get clerical jobs) and leads to stuff like this. Heck, even the scammers are getting somewhere around 6 lpa, or 50K/m which is considered upper middle class

[@combatcritique]

@@normalchannel2185Strong education system? India's literacy rate was just 74% in 2011. I wouldn't call the education system strong but a lack of employment opportunities and jobs

[@normalchannel2185]

@combatcritique compared to the population

[@anoushka_b_blue]

Nice job Pierogi and Team SP. Shout out to the scambait community!

[@28ebdh3udnav]

The IRS scam. "if you don't pay 10 thousand right now, you will go to jail!" ""I know you are a scammer, I actually owe 50 thousand!"

[@benoithudson7235]

My sister got a scam warning her the border guard agency was about to go pick her up if she didn’t pay. She asked around the office and none of her colleagues fessed up to being on their way … she was working for the border guard agency at the time.

[@matthewhartman7176]

The IRS doesn't operate like that.

[@PlebNC]

Al Capone if he was alive today.

[@arturscircenis2820]

"This is UK government, pay us 1500 dollars in iTunes gift cards or we put you under the rest!"

[@ericmills9839]

@@arturscircenis2820 that's the one that blows my mind....who on earth believes that a government agency wants to get paid in gift cards? I hate to think how much more sophisticated these scams may be when I'm old and losing my fastball.

[@AaronLing]

Best wired interview! Enlightening, educational and entertaining. Well done.

[@thebetterthird6402]

I got scammed 2 months ago. I was looking to buy dolls and mentioned it in a private Facebook group. It never crossed my mind scammers would target you for low amounts. I happily sent them $150 before realizing I had been scammed. Since then , they reached me 3 times. These times I was ready. I kept them engaged for as long as possible just to annoy them. And after hours of seeing them “working it” I would agree to send them money. Which I did, I the form of 1 dollar. I then screenshot the payment information and publish it…..

[@bennett8535]

Very interesting. Very frightening. I have virtually no social media presence, do almost no online financial activity, never click on an email or text link, etc. and yet this still terrifies me. Thank you very much and please, more videos like this. Now I'm going to check the channel out.

[@matthewhartman7176]

You're in a better position than most.

[@_Caddac]

Interesting thing related to the scammers using AI to try and trick your family into thinking you're in an emergency. My family has a codeword that we would use to verify eachother in case of a call like this, just to be on the safe side. It's an easy word we all can remember but in an emergency it would totally stick out and help us verify one another. I suggest a lot of families do the same

[@kawaii33366]

People who make ai like this and deepfake tech and act like it isn't doing more harm than good at actual idiots istg...

[@Myna_The_One]

Good idea honestly.

[@logikgr]

You paid attention to stranger danger ed. 😊

[@barfy4751]

Marshmallow?

[@mpettengill1981]

This is a good tip

[@billb207]

I see 'Richard Parker' was the name given in the will scam at 7:10. This is the name of the tiger in the Indian-centred film Life of Pi.

[@Usually_Alix]

“are you crazy?” “yes, i am” i mean, Pierogi answered genuinely!

[@davinlaroche3029]

I received a scam email a couple of years ago where the sender said he knows what I watch and what I do while watching and if I didn't send him $150, he'd share everything with all of my contacts... then signs the email. But that's not the kicker! The idiot re-sends the exact same email less than five minutes later without his signature, as if it would magically make the first one disappear.

[@K.C-2049]

I'd LOVE to get one of these; I've had a piece of tape on the webcam of every single laptop I've bought since 2009 lmao

[@TechGorilla1987]

@13:04 - I have answered the phone the same as I have for about 30 years now. I simply pick the phone up and say (loudly and with purpose) SPEAK! For the longest time, my mother didn't appreciate that.

[@kaasbaaskoning]

That improv scambait was amazing lol

[@zestyaardvarks]

Last year I tried out online dating, and I'm confident that only one of the people I matched with wasn't a scammer. So many fake profiles, and even among the ones that look legit, they'll be asking for gift cards, messaging apps, straight-up sending money over Paypal or Venmo. It's a fuckin nightmare.

[@hrizonsdebbie]

About a month after my grandfather died, we were all at grandma's house hanging out. The phone rang so I picked it up. The person asked for grandpa by his full first and last name, which nobody who knew him used. I started fake crying and shouted, "My grandpa's dead! Don't you ever call here again!" and hung up. The whole family just stared at me in silence until someone said, "Grandpa would have loved that." ❤

[@invisibleadversary]

This guy is a legend. Got deep into his stuff during the pandemic.

[@FlagCutie]

Love what you do man! My coworker loves picking up the phone and messing with scanners. His record is having someone on the line for 1.5 hours.

[@Henners1991]

21:42 - the police in these places aren't "unaware" of it. They're actively complicit and likely taking kickbacks.

[@matthewhartman7176]

I would wager it goes up the chain a bit further than that. I have to be careful when I say these things because I think if people truly understood the actual state of the world, they would become severely depressed and riddled with helplessness and hopelessness. I think the best one could hope for at this point is that they're not the target.

[@Zener26Diode]

6:21 bro did the anger scammer speedrun live on camera

[@PrograError]

anger scammer any% speedrun live

[@eclipsed4utoo]

You may not believe this, but as I was watching this video, I LITERALLY got an amazon scam phone call to "authorize the payment of $1,499 for the recent order of Apple MacBook Pro on your amazon account". I kid you not. If I could post a screenshot, I would. Literally 4 minutes before he receives the call in the video. Mind blown right now.

[@notmenotme614]

2:52 It amazes me that scammers will talk to victims like that, no real call centre would ever talk to a customer like that. If someone talked to me like that I’d instantly hang up.

[@BuzzKillingtonne]

Hate to say it but someone close to me fell for a romance scam and after losing all their money they still think it is real, they pay the scammers constantly with whatever money they have believing that a celebrity is in love with them and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Its truly heartbreaking to watch.

[@Tobeesho]

Sadly we cannot help those who don't want help

[@trust_hack444]

I think I can help the person

[@youdontknowme5969]

Something similar was happening with my sister. She somehow fell in love with some middle-easterner online, and he then tried convincing her to send money so he could fly here and marry her. So she asked ME for the money and of course I interrogated her why and she told me all this. I was like YOU DON'T RESLIZE THIS IS S SCAM?!!? Then she got all mad at me. So stupid of her!!!! We still don't talk because of this.

[@anoushka_b_blue]

Please show them the Catfished KZbin channel, they specialize in romance scams like this.

[@BlueMoon1890]

5:55 man, I haven't heard anyone call an android phone a 'Droid since like 2011.

[@flynnlivescmd]

Ok...?

[@kindlin]

@@flynnlivescmd And...?

[@Sutona_Strawberry]

I’m so happy they got you on here for a vid! Ive been watching scammer payback for about 2 years and love what you do and I just found this channel recently and started binging it so it’s very coincidental for me seeing you show up here keep doing what you do best !

[@BlackReshiram]

as someone who has been scammed earlier this year and NEARLY lost a lot of money (instead just losing an old discord account), this is cathartic on a personal level

[@ArgChica]

Love this guy. The new type of Hero. Intelligence with a real moral code is needed so much now a days.

[@gbz25]

PIEROGI!!!! ❤️ I’m so happy about this collab!!!!

[@Red_Sox_Fan.]

What a fantastic Q&A, this is so awesome and a great way to spread more awareness about scams. Congratulations to you all at SP on being invited by WIRED to do this!

[@QueenLionessStar]

As a bank employee, call your bank. it's not always 100% guaranteed, but they can always try and get the money back for you as well. it's somewhat better than just calling it a complete loss

[@AlabasterAlabaster-p9g]

And yet he’s always telling everyone he’s going to ring up the bank for them, even though he knows full well he can’t do a thing. Doesn’t stop him, though! He was at it last month too, telling folks he’d call their bank.

[@lindwurmchen]

I still remember having a bad nightmare some years ago, woke up in the middle of the night and was too afraid to go back to sleep. I found Scammer Payback and the video of him acting as Vivienne constantly driving to Target or Walmart and buying the wrong gift cards safed my night. Had some sweet dreams after that. 😂

[@marissacross9745]

My grandparents were scammed out of $8,000. Got a call that their grandson was in jail and needed money to get bailed out. Unsure if the scammers knew or not, but my brother does have a record so like, I see why they got scammed. But also you’d think my grandparents would have called my mom first to verify or that my mom would’ve called them to tell them the news if it was true. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️