What gets some baiters so angry about particular scams?

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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:11 am

Quote:

Bait this POS!

Quote:

Gang up on this worthless toe rag!

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Mass bait this utter creep!

I see this a lot on eater, and obviously I gather that some scams touch a raw nerve with some baiters. Common ones I've noticed are the exploitation of youngsters, and the use of a US Forces character by a lad.

Now my view is that all scammers are equally worthless. They're all happy to exploit the deaths of real air crash victims, cancer sufferers, whatever. All vlads are happy to prey on the terminally lonely. And all lads are equally happy to take $500 from an elderly woman say, whose husband has just passed away, and who can't pay the heating bill. All the more experienced baiters here will have seen examples of that.

I just wonder what it is that makes some baiters take certain scams so personally?
After all, to them, it's business. Much like it's my business to screw with theirs. I don't discriminate.

Views?

(Disclaimer: This isn't aimed at anyone, just a trend I've noticed. My apologies if the random quotes at the top ring any bells)

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:19 am

Well for me, being a member of the military, I take particular offense to scams exploiting the US Armed Forces because they already have a negative image now. Some people are stupid enough to believe that US soldiers are actually pillaging Iraqi people. Also, it's dishonorable all around to tarnish the image of people who save lives.

In general, if you were a fat guy, would you be more hurt if someone called you stupid or fat? Think about it that way.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:23 am

You can't avoid personal reactions to some scams.

As I said in my This Made Me Mad thread, I lost both parents to cancer, and cancer scams just make me angry in a way that Boxing Day Tsunami or S11 (for example) scams don't. I can't help my reaction.

I understand the purpose of your question, Mugatu, but that's all I can offer.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:28 am

I know what you mean Mugatu - to me there is no hierarchy of scams or scammers. They are all pond life. However, I think love scammers deserve special contempt because not only do they rob vulnerable people of their money, they also break their victims' hearts in the process.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:31 am

@Mugatu - I completely understand where you are coming from with this question. And I guess, as the guys before me have mentioned, it stems from a bitter personal experience.

Personally, I am quite thick skinned about most scams but charity scams in particular, get up my nose.
Maybe because these scams not only target a vulnerable and well meaning victim, but they also deprive people that are genuinely in need of charitable help.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:33 am

And in general, they spread distrust of truly genuine operations and overall make things harder.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:38 am

I know what you are saying Mugatu - I have also wondered why there seems to be some vendetta from certain baiters towards certain scammers.

I suppose some of the scams we can laugh at - with their silly characters and poor english, and as mentioned above - the ones who use real plane crashes etc to help their story seem a bit more seedy. I guess it all comes down to interpretation but as you say - these are all people who would gladly do a runner with any amount of money from anyone without a second thought.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:38 am

Ex wrote:

Some people are stupid enough to believe that US soldiers are actually pillaging Iraqi people.

Some people are also stupid enough to think that young, pretty Russian girls go around stealing money from men in other countries. Or that they've really won the lottery. Or that Barristers from African countries are not to be trusted.

Ex wrote:

Also, it's dishonorable all around to tarnish the image of people who save lives.

It's also dishonourable to tarnish the image of Pastors, Barristers, or dead people from plane wrecks. But that's my point, that's just what scammers do..

I don't talk about my RL on here, but my line of work is similarly exploited by scammers. I don't view that scam as being any worse than any other, as I say I can't see why I'd take it personally.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:41 am

Well, some of us are just really into what we do and stand for. Its like home invasions and robberies. Sure you hate the people who do them, but you hate them more when they do it to you right?

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:16 pm

I bait Lotto Lads mercilssly because I'm on a Mission from God

They are the bottom feeding pond scum who spam their scams out like automated dung spreaders. They are cheap and worthless, like their scams, and likely to be passed by as unfun and avid script huggers by baiters, so I aim to match them with an appropriate weapon that picks up their scams and shoots back scripts designed to make them pray for divine forgiveness.

I'll always jump on scams aimed at charities or abusing the sick and dying too.

As I get better organised, I'll expand my areas of special attention.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:31 pm

I hate charity scams, cancer scams, deaf person scams and disaster scams, all equally. I know that all scammers are evil, but..... those ones stomp on my toes a bit more.

I still prefer NOK scams as being the easiest to manipulate. They're scum, too.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:37 pm

I appreciate that everyone has a particular niche of scam that they like to go after for whatever reason. Like Gnasher said, I find the love scammers to be the worst emotionally, and also the most effective and slick.

What I really meant was why do people ask for help in baiting one particular scammer who has obviously pinged a nerve on a personal level with them? I just find it odd when other scammers are hardly being paragons of virtue at the same time.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:41 pm

I personally get upset when someone uses REAL LIFE people, charities or disasters to try and scam money.

Trophy Videos · Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:52 pm

Well, I jumped on my pet check lad, Raymond for a couple of reasons. First, it was right after the DDOS attack on this site, and he boasted that it would take 50 baiters or more to even put a small dent in his business. I like a challenge like that. When I found out how intelligent this guy is, it made me madder at him, because I know he was scamming many vics. I'm really enjoying breaking him down emotionally, while the others are getting their mitts on his financial dealings. I like the team effort that goes into breaking this guy down.
I don't like charity scams, or nok sick cancer scams either. They also get special treatment.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:02 pm

I hate the love scammers because it's not just the money they steal, it's people's hearts as well.

I hate the vlad because their particular style of scam can mean a person can send thousands of dollars to them without the scammer ever having even read a single word they wrote. It's automated scamming at it's best.

I hate the lads because they will put so much effort into scamming a person, really making someone believe they're for real (or is that 4real?). Most other types of scam may only require a few emails, but love lads will spend hours and hours grooming you on IM before hitting you for the money request. I've had lads that have spent up to 100 hours "preparing" me for the scam before hitting me for the money request.

And the "falling in love" thing really makes me angry, especially when you know it's a guy behind the pictures of the pretty girl. Imagine having to tell someone they fell in love with nothing more than a few photos of a woman stolen off the net sent to them by a male scammer. Evil or Very Mad

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 11

I don't know... I can't see any reason why some people would get angry. You know they are scammers and you've made the decision to go after them.

In my mind, you need to keep yourself somewhat distanced and not get involved into it this much.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:34 pm

GomerPyle wrote:

I bait Lotto Lads mercilssly because I'm on a Mission from God

No Gomer, that's Jake and Elwood.

It's not night, you don't have a tank of gas and half a pack of cigarettes (but your avatar does have the sunglasses) Very Happy

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:06 pm

I have to raise an ethical question Shocked

Is it far to make scammers cry ? Question

Who cares - send me the tapes and I'll use it as background music to brighten my day. Laughing

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:11 pm

Crying?

There's no crying in Lad-Ball!

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:20 pm

Hitman scams really bother me. I mean, with other scams, at least the victim feels they have a choice whether to take it or leave it. Whereas the hitman vics think that their very lives are in danger, so they have to bite. (Ok, maybe I didn't write that so well, but you know what I mean).

Also charity scams. You have these people are are genuinely trying to do a good deed, help save people, and they end up being robbed blind. I'd imagine that afterwards these people are a lot less likely to donate to genuine charities in the future.

It's true that all scammers are lower than pond scum, but some pond scum is slimier than others.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:29 pm

For me its fake cheque scams. It preys on some of the poorest people in society. The unemployed, the disabled, single parents, the old- all the people who can't get a proper job for a variety of good reasons. These are generally people who don't want to claim benefits/welfare WHY!!

I put Raymond up for team baiting purely because he was such a person and because he was stupid enough to tell me the "piss off and leave me do my business"

All the daft sod had to do was not reply to my mails and he's still be in business!!

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:01 pm

Military scams are one of my pet peeves. When you can relate to something from personal experience it tends to hold a higher significance then other things.

I have never lived in Russia, nor have I known any scammer to take advantage of a situation in which someone personally I knew died. But I was a soldier once, and I remember all the hard work I put in. So when those Lads decide they want to devalue my brothers & sisters in arms, well then, they just spread their butt cheeks open for the FOAB's to be delivered by yours truly.

I hate all scammers, but I reserve a special place in on the rack for certain types.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:14 pm

Mugatu I understand your question. You are asking why, when there are so MANY lads, and so MANY different types of scams, and all of them are equally heinous and vicous, why do we sometimes feel the need to ask other baiters to target one particular lad, or type of scam, over others? They ALL deserve to be baited into smithereens, so why discriminate, right?

There have been some good answers in here as to why certain types of scams strike a nerve with some people. I have my own faves - I love baiting hit-men, and I have a particular affinity for going after any lad that I see tries to scam a child. That's the Mom in me...I imagine the lad going after one of MY kids, and it makes my blood boil.

But I think the answer you are looking for is...we all do know that there are a bazillion other, just as disgusting lads out there. But somehow we encountered this ONE lad...and we want to get HIM. This ONE lad struck our nerve, and that makes it feel personal. And there is just something satisfying about going after the lad you KNOW is doing the one thing that pisses you off -- and getting him. That is just more fulfilling than going after another nameless, faceless script-sender, y'know?

At least, that's how I feel. I hope that helps!

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:02 pm

I agree with CrimsonSapien - if a certain scam tactic hits close to home, it's just going to piss you off more. Mine was the scammer who claimed to be holding funds from Holocaust victims. It particularly enraged me as I used to work for a Holocaust survivor. She still had her camp tattoo on her arm.

If you apply pure logic to all scammers, sure, they're Equal Opportunity Scumbags. Some just push your buttons more than others.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:18 pm

Like others, I particularly loathe and detest romance scammers and any who use human suffering in their scams. I find this elevated disgust analogous to having special fondness and connection to specific issues that are near and dear to my heart (e.g., abused spouses and children; animal rescue). I can't bait every scammer so I gravitated towards the ones that piss me off the most. All scammers are scum, but some scum is scummier.

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