My name is Kitboga,
and I spend the majority of my time
finding and talking to scammers.
Hello.
Hi, yes, I’m calling about my Dell laptop computer.
OK, what is the problem you are having, ma’am?
In the past, people have deemed that or called that “scam baiting.”
Or this process of trying to bait a scammer
into going through their script.
Ma’am, we’d definitely love to help you,
but the best I can do, we can connect the computer
and we can fix it up.
So I try to become the perfect target for them in a sense.
I got this message and they’re telling me
that there is a problem on the computer.
And I’m wondering if it has something to do with the clouds.
That way I can hear what they’re going to do.
I can watch how they’re going to try to steal money.
We can connect the computer and we can help you to fix the problem.
Is that OK for you?
Of course that’s OK.
And it was just this exploratory process of going online
and looking for numbers and weird websites
and fake virus messages.
Sometimes it was creating...
sharing phone numbers that I had bought
and putting them out on the Internet.
Kind of the opposite of what most people would do.
Most people don’t want to get robocalls and spam calls,
but I wanted to get them.
This is technician Sam, tech ID 3889.
Oh, can I just call you Sam
or do I have to call you by your numbers?
So Edna, she is probably
the favorite character of me and everyone else, OK?
Yes.
Alright, Sam...
it wants me to run something.
Is that normal?
Yes, run it, run it.
But this is the software that will let him see my computer.
So, as soon as I click “yes,”
he will be able to see my whole screen,
control my mouse,
and take files from me or send files to me.
This is the baiting part, you know?
Like, does he believe that I am...
an old woman who needs help with her pop-ups,
or is he suspicious that I might be baiting him?
Ma’am, as soon as I see this computer,
this computer seems to be having a lot of viruses here.
So I would have to clean the computer
and update everything, whatever’s important.
So he said there’s a bunch of viruses.
He hasn’t even tracked anything, you know?
There would be a one-time charge in order to fix everything.
And that’s for $89.99.
So you can see how the typical scam could only take 10, 15 minutes.
-If this guy was--
And how will you make the payment, will it be debit card?
Or you will sign a check?
I would prefer cash, if you can.
Otherwise....
No, we cannot take cash, ma’am, we are not in front of you.
Well, I could mail it.
People are already afraid.
And there’s so much misinformation
being spread about COVID-19,
and there’s a lot of unknowns.
And scammers try to create fear and unknowns and fake news
with their scams and their scripts.
Just a few days ago, I ran across this fake website.
They’re sending emails and spamming the Internet with fake information,
making it look real using the Fox News logo and everything.
Their goal is to lead you to websites that look like this.
Well, I saw the article on Fox
about how there was a mom who found a solution for the coronavirus.
-And...
And, you know, you got to hand it to her.
She’s probably very smart.
There’s scientists all over the world trying to figure it out,
but thankfully she did.
I just hope that eventually she’ll let the government know.
In terms of the cure, has it been...
has it been tested that much, or is it brand new?
Umm, sir, I just want to inform you that
this immunity plan has been tested already.
In fact, we’re almost out of stock.
There’s times with...
the scammers where they get aggressive and they yell
and shout over the phone.
Or they threaten that you’re going to go to jail.
I've had scammers play police sirens in the background of the call
and say the cops are on their way.
They've threatened to kill my characters before,
which doesn’t really make sense, but...
they can get really manipulative.
You called me.
-And you preyed on me...
because you thought you could steal my money
because I’m a 77-year-old man.
Have you got the money in your account?
You lied to me, you haven’t got it.
You’re a liar.
You were a greedy person at the beginning, I know that.
-I’m a greedy person?
-How am I a greedy person?
Yes, you are.
You ****.
Sometimes when I’m talking to the scammers,
it feels as though I’m coming up against people who...
I don’t know, lack almost no emotion or empathy, they just don’t care.
They only want the money, and that’s it.
Now, in order to install the security
and to put you on the technical support,
there are three options.
You can get it for one year.
You can get it for two years.
-That’s another common thing they do.
And I think sometimes it’s maybe a loophole in their mind
where they think, ”Well, we’re just selling you
a three-year support plan.”
Why is it that you’re selling me a three-year plan again?
Because they told me to beware of three-year plans
and never buy them.
I’m not saying that you have to go with the three-year plan.
I gave you three options: one-year, two-year, and the three-year.
It is up to you which one you want to go with.
Well, I don’t want to go with any of them.
And in the end, we usually...
you know, all of a sudden I stop the voice changer
and we kind of have this “gotcha” moment.
OK. But sir, why wouldn’t you guarantee that you fixed my computer
if the whole thing is fake anyway?
I mean, there’s nothing wrong on the computer,
so you might as well guarantee you fixed it, right?
There’s nothing wrong with the computer?
Correct.
There’s nothing wrong. It’s just... a virtual machine.
There’s no viruses on it.
Well, you scanned the computer, right?
Yeah, I knew that from the beginning.
You scanned it though, correct?
You found a bunch of problems?
No, I didn’t scan it.
I knew it from the very beginning, it’s a virtual machine.
Oh! Oh, you did?
You know, people like you all day long, you know?
They called me something like 1,500 times
when I wasn’t at my computer.
They just constantly called me every 15, 30 minutes
trying to get my attention.
And you think of, gosh, three, four weeks a month goes by,
you spend 36 hours on the phone,
1,500 phone calls,
who knows how many hours trying to plan what they’re going to do
to scam this old woman.
And then all of a sudden you realize she’s not an old lady.
And it was a fake bank account.
And there was zero chance you were ever going to get any money.
Like, that has to be...
Yeah, that has to do something to you mentally,
I don’t know, make you really mad.
At least.
-So, you know...
get this **** off somebody else.
Call some other number because we very well know
-what you people do.
that this was a virtual machine, and you lied about it anyway?
You called us out, and that’s what you do all day long, you know?
Sit on the couch and just waste others’ times.
Good luck with that.
Try that again one more time, OK?
Well, I mean, I’ve called you guys before,
I’ll call you again.