Two wrongs ...

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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:57 pm

dolittle wrote:

And do you believe your vigilante-ish actions have any positive effect beyond a laugh at the scammer?

I'm not sure if anyone above mentioned this point, but here it is anyway.

I believe there is a significant ripple effect from the work done here. You found us didn't you? There are videos on YouTube, news articles, feature stories on television, blog mentions, discussions in other forums, email chains, etc. that feature some of the work done here. That is invaluable in getting the word out about these scams and preventing potential victims from falling for them.

It seems unlikely that very many scammers have gone straight just because they've had the crap baited out of them, but maybe a little public humiliation goes a long way, and maybe we can make it a less noble profession in the eyes of their peers.

We've made them suspicious of anyone who has gmail, or has difficulty making a timely payment. I'm sure real victims have been dropped because the scammers suspect they are baiters.

I could go on, but you get the idea. I hope you'll stick around and help out. If baiting isn't your cup of tea, there are lots of other ways to help.

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:01 pm

I love Ethics threads, I read em' all. Of course, I studied Philosophy in college too....

I was talking to a friend the other day who said that he sort of accepted what I'm doing because he feels that, at worst, it falls under the heading of a practical joke. I'm not taking anything from my lad but his time. Even offering him a job or minister position that doesn't exist isn't really fraud. Fraud must involve an outcome. Ideally, our baits have no outcome - just until the lad finally has had enough and goes to cry in corner for a while.

A lad can run away from my bait at anytime and I won't pursue him (except to check up to see if he's just being lazy) and I only talk to those who found ME first. The fact that all of this correspondence happens behind the electronic mask seems to be the thing that makes people uniquely concerned. But assume that this correspondence didn't happen through e-mails? A person comes up to me telling me he'd like to sell me London Bridge. If I say "sure, sounds great!" and let him do his spiel - knowing full well it's a lie - while other potential victims are now walking my unmolested....have I done something wrong?

My final thought (I seem to be a bit ADD, sorry..) is to address the common idea that we are "taking advantage of people". In truth, we gain no "advantage" at all. We're actually spending as much time as they are talking to each other.......us baiters just happen to enjoy it more, right?