What brought you here and what keeps you here?

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Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 1:03 pm

I'd imagine that for most of us, there are a number of reasons. In my case, part of it is rooted in altruism, and part of it stems from me being fascinated with confidence tricks and con artists ever since I was young.

Unlike, say, armed robbery or even burglary, successfully swindling a person generally requires a good understanding of psychology and human nature. This is why many con artists don't consider what they do to be immoral - they just see it as them outsmarting a person.

Well, none of this makes them any better than any other type of thief. It is rare for them to be arrested, even if they are based in a first world country and meet their mark in person, because they are usually long gone by the time the mark realizes they have been taken.

So, scambaiting gives me an opportunity to sort of beat them at their own game. It obviously doesn't get me any money (in fact, it costs money), but it does give me the satisfaction of having outsmarted them. Though I do not burn baits, I hope that having their time wasted (as well as money for phone calls, cafe time, transportation, etc) gives them a small sense of how they make their victims feel.

Since arrests for advance fee fraud are so rare, scambaiting at least gives them some small measure of punishment for their misdeeds.

I first read about scambaiting through clicking on various links in Wikipedia articles. I read the article on baiting, and I found it intriguing, so I decided to give it a try. What keeps me here is the battle of wits with the lad and the amusement I get from some of my baits. But mostly, if I ever forget why I bait, I go over to Scamwarners, and it reminds me.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 1:59 pm

I found this site after being scammed. I stay here to help fight "the good fight" and have found this baiting crew to be an invaluable resource in that fight.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 2:00 pm

I received one of those emails, Googled 419 scam and found this site. Stayed for the sense of 'team' and witty banter.

Elite Baiter Joined: 28 Mar 2015 Posts: 1916

What Thursten said. Very Happy

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 3:44 pm

I was laid off work for six months and read the entire internet, this part was particularly fascinating, as the Turd bait was happening in real time.

Also Anita's pics.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 4:35 pm

I stumbled across another baiting site and had some good laughs. But the details on how to do it were lacking and some of the 'jokes' left a bad taste in my mouth. So I googled baiting and started reading eater. Liked it much better and stuck around. Had to take a haitus because I wasnt able to get online for a few years. Came back asap because I enjoy seeing lads suffer.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 5:03 pm

For me is just the daily fun, to "morning coffee" hour. Laughing

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 6:18 pm

I saw a hilarious show on tv about baiting. Some members of eater helped with the setup I believe. Later I searched the web for more of this foolery and found Scamorama. A lot baits to read there. I especially remember the crooked lawyer baits from loualsindor and the "I'm not your daddy" story from Yastreb which made laugh so hard.
Then I found Eater and never left Smile

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 7:42 pm

My wife read about Eater somewhere back around 2008 or 2009 and told me about it. At the time I worked in a political position which deals with consumer fraud, and I also have a dark sense of sarcasm, humour and justice. I signed on and did straight baits, then left the site for a few years and forgot my ID, so I signed back up under my current name. I mostly straight bait for Piggys and to waste their time, but occasionally I work something more complicated. More than anything else I just read other baits. I stick around to respect and admire the community and to contribute what effort I can to the mission. Which reminds me that I need to sign back up for premium...

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:02 pm

I found the Monkey Man site about 15 years ago and piqued my interest and it's been in my bookmarks since. But after an elderly family friend got scammed, I found this site and decided to join.

Why do I stay? I've never laughed so hard since I found this site.

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:05 pm

A lad brought me, after I did some searching. All the other lads keep me here.

And the members.

Wyoming Double Glazed Joined: 11 Mar 2016 Posts: 367

Craigslist scammer brought me here.. Bware keeps me here.. seriously -- she locks me downstairs in basement.. I escaped today!.. [starting to run]

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 10:40 pm

I was initially lured in by promises of pics of 'hot Eater ladies' then offered gold for just a few £ a year. Almost 7 years to the day now & I am still waiting. I think I have been scammed Crying or Very sad

Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 12:05 am

I got your gold. If you'll pay for the release certificate I'll send it to you in a trunk box.

-----

I screwed with a lad years ago and got a bizarre response from my RL account and created a second one for baiting. I was researching what the heck was going on and found this place.

I stay because 1) it entertains me to no end and 2) the shear magnitude of the scamming world makes me mad and I want to do what I can to chip away at it.

Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 12:55 am

I wonder if times are tough in lad land...more lads, fewer potential magas (because advance fee fraud is so well known at this point, whereas 20 years ago, hardly anyone knew what it was).

Oh, and more baiters.

Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 3:34 pm

I played around with a scammer for a bit over a week just this month. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun and I really enjoyed seeing the guy get more and more irritated as time went by. He deserved it; I despise thieves.

Toward the end, I got to wondering if there weren't other people out there baiting scammers for fun. As it happened, there were, and here I am. I don't plan on going anywhere because I like this hobby and I have a lot to learn.

Wannabe Baiter Joined: 27 Jul 2016 Posts: 93 Location: USA

I lost my husband in 2012. When I decided to get back in the game, I turned to on line dating. I read the warnings to not send money to someone you had not met or to leave the site. I remember seeing on television men and women giving tons of money to their "true love" who would vanish.
I researched and discover a few sites but this one seemed to be serious about scam baiting.
After being pursued by and sparring with bad English speaking persons who were on contract overseas and loved me truly after 5 minutes of communication, I decided this is the place to learn to do it right.

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 1:17 am

Around 2003 ran across an article in The Guardian about scambaiting. It called baiting "the internet's newest blood sport." That brought me in to baiting. I came to this site after hearing the story about the Chad safari on NPR's This American Life. See https://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=133890

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 2:41 am

^ I also came to Eater due to the Chad safari, but in my case it was because I read a news article in 2012 (I believe on Yahoo) that mentioned it and provided a link. I was researching scams online because my mom had just received one of those old school "Spanish lottery" scams in the postal mail, thankfully she didn't fall for it. I read through the entire Adamu bait thread and couldn't stop laughing. After that, I lurked for a bit, then decided to sign up. Jojobean, Prof So and So, and YW are probably responsible for a significant number of talented baiters joining the site.

I stay because of the camaraderie among baiters, and the tremendous resources that are here. Eater really does make a huge difference, harming the lads' operations and helping victims to the tune of millions of dollars every year. I sometimes joke to friends that I probably do more for the US economy in my hobby than in my real job, and it may not be that far from the truth. As an added bonus, I get to amuse myself, feel altruistic and good about my strange hobby, and also have a release valve for aggression against acceptable targets who thoroughly deserve it.

I got into site killing because one of the first few lads I baited sent me a scam site, and my mentor sent me to the Fake Sites Forum to ask for help. I discovered I had a natural aptitude for it, and here we are 4.5 years and 14,000+ murdered sites later. I wonder what that first lad would say if he knew that he was the one that unleashed me as a scourge against lad sites.

I keep going with the sites because I'm good at it, and because somebody needs to. We always need more site killers, and there is a huge backlog of sites that need to be reported. Even though it can feel futile sometimes when we take down sites and more just pop up again the next day, I know it makes a difference for the victims who twig because they were tipped off by a suspended site. That keeps me going.

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 5:13 am

I found (I think on a link from another forum) a site with some published baits by characters like Nora Lendeby and Tikka Masala, then found this site and joined. I stay because I help potential victims see that something is a scam (including French and Spanish speakers, and sometimes speakers of other Romance languages) and frustrate lads by shutting down their sites and accounts. Also the camaraderie of baiters.

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 1:11 pm

A beautiful Russian woman emailed me and I fell in love. She wanted me to send her money so she could visit. I said "I will use my miles". She said she needs money for transport to the airport. I said "I will send a pre-paid car". This went on and on. I had a lot of fun with that beauty and realized that toying with scammers is fun. Googled, found this site and it's been years of fun. In fact, I am "in Spain" right now and the lad who is picking me up at the airport can't find me. I guess my cell is not working well. We keep getting cut off right when I tell him where I am. I decided to jump a car to the hotel. I'll meet him in the lobby. Wink

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 1:15 pm

I followed a link here from Scamorama. I stay here for all the stories and laughs. Oh, and all those phone calls.

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 1:38 pm

lighten_up wrote:

I escaped today!.. [starting to run]

Found you. Welcome back.

That's also one of the things that keeps members here. You can slide in and out as real life keeps you busy and then time frees itself. Unfortunately, lads are still around...and will continue to be...

Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 1:46 pm

I was on the same site as Yastreb back in 2005 where I had posted a silly Star Wars bait (hence my username). I've always had an interest in cons and manipulation tactics in general. I stay because of the awesome community here, the laughs, and real damage we collectively inflict upon the scammers.

Posted: Thu May 25, 2017 3:47 am

Quote:

Unfortunately, lads are still around...and will continue to be...

Ain't that the truth. There have been con artists as long as there has been goods and services of value. Even if nobody uses the Internet 100 years from now, there will still be scammers.

I don't know how much the threat of being baited deters lads, but I'm guessing it at least makes them be a bit more cautious (and they will never, ever be able to differentiate between a baiter and a potential victim 100% of the time, so baiting definitely saves potential victims.

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