Scammer Stereotypes?

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Not quite a Newb Joined: 18 Aug 2015 Posts: 66

I was wondering what everyone's broad generalizations of different types of lads were. Since I've been back in the baiting community I've noticed that different scammers tend to fall into different stereotypes, some of which I've seen.

For example, charity lads seem extraordinary lazy and very stuck on script.

All of the recovery lads I've baited tend to give up bank accounts quite willingly, but have little patience and get quite rude, pushy, and seem to twig if they don't get their payday rather easily.

In everyone's experience here has anyone noticed if there are groups that tend to only work with straight baits, go for safaris more willingly, give up trophies, twig quickly, etc?

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 5:41 am

What you have to realize that with all things considered, there are still people on the other side and that's why you can't draw from stereotypes much. Some formats are easily baited one way in particular (pigs from recovery scams, safaris from gold lads etc.) but the core to a good bait is not trying to find the stereotype your lad falls within but rather trying to understand what your lad is like regardless.

Get him off script and start finding out what makes him tick Wink

Elite Baiter Joined: 21 Jan 2010 Posts: 1474

I did some small experiments last year around this time regarding different scam types/ ASEM size etc:

https://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=257637&highlight=

At this time of year the loan lads have a feeding frenzy and are easier to extract pigs from was a general conclusion.

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 10:25 am

We all have stereotypes -- it's hard to avoid doing this! And in the scam world they're often based on the tools and approaches that are used differently in various scams. I feel strongly that a detailed discussion of scam stereotypes is a dead end - unless we take a more constructive approach that considers the usual methods that are typical of different scams.

As others have mentioned there is incredible variability within any scam type depending on the individual scammers and how they operate -- as a baiter it can be very limiting to think in terms of these stereotypes when baiting a particular sort of scammer.

However, if you consider the methods that are typical of different scams (including the populations that a particular type of scam might target), and how they might be exploited in baits, this moves beyond stereotyping into more constructive analysis.

For example I like to bait traditional trunkbox scammers and dying widows, because in the early stages this allows me to draw out the conversation a long time, due to confusion among the two or three scammer characters that are typically involved from the start. This is more about the structure of the scam than about more general stereotypes about the scammers themselves.

Master Baiter Joined: 26 Apr 2015 Posts: 239

^^^ I agree, it's not so much the scammers them selves but more the type of scam your baiting.
I had a scammer I was baiting once, Unknown to me at the time, I was baiting two different scams at the same time with two of my different characters.
One was a trunk box scam, which I struggled to get much out of, and the other was a loan scam.
The same lad was behind both scams at the same time with both my characters, on his loan scam I almost had him on safari, but things went pair shaped when both baits accidentally got connected together and it all blew up in my face

I have found orphan laddettes to be lazy and at best you can get the pigs but not much else.

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 12:29 pm

Stereotypes are worthless. For every assumption, there's an exception, or four. Lads lie. That's a fact. I'd leave it there.

419Eater is my life Joined: 11 Sep 2015 Posts: 335

^^^Word bware419ers. Stereotypes lead to prejudices. And we know where prejudices lead to. Like firehouse5 said we all have stereotypes. But this is why it's called like this and not a fact.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 18 Aug 2015 Posts: 66

I suppose I could have picked a better word than stereotypes. Upon review that was poor wording.

However, I do appreciate and understand everyone's messages and input.