The front line – Scambaiters – a need to develop a closer relationship with authorities

Mainstream "Scambaiting" was initially born from the seemingly overnight explosion of scams. Initially, it involved mostly individuals communicating with scammers to disrupt them, waste their time, gather information, and better understand the scam. Scams continue to increase in number, sophistication, and financial impact. Scam baiters are constantly in contact with scammers and typically develop a deep understanding of a scam and often are the first to encounter new and emerging scams.

Many view scambaiters as merely something for entertainment value. We will present data collected over a period of four years that showcases the value of information collected, including fraudulent sites, bank accounts identified and reported, and methods used to discover more data. We will show the evolution of scambaiting by demonstrating some automation tools now being used to collect this information, and how scam baiting has evolved.

Lastly, we will discuss some real-life examples used to disrupt these scams. We will also provide details of how a closer relationship with authorities through defined reporting lines, real-time sharing of information and education would result in an improved pro-active approach to fraudsters and have positive outcomes for Australians.