Hi all. I am new to the scam baiting game and was wondering if this is the proper way to ask questions in order to educate myself. Example: I have contacted a tech support scammer, but chickened out before allowing remote access. I’d like to know if: A) There is a “point of no return”, where allowing them to control my PC puts me in in danger of them accessing things like passwords or my banking info? ? I see many baiters using “virtual PC’s” where it looks like they’re actual system is not in jeopardy. Is creating a VPC very difficult for someone not very tech-savvy? I’m retired, and scam baiting seems like a great way to spend my free time. These jerks need to be confronted whenever possible. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
@Scam_Stalker#3924 VM’s are extremely easy to create, and it protects your data from the scammer. NEVER ALLOW THEM ACCESS TO YOUR REAL DEVICE. You can check the resources below for information on creating VM’s, I also recommend you use FireRTC, Skype, or Google Hangouts to call, that also avoids the possibility of a scammer getting any of your personal information. The last great resources if Fake Name Generator, it is a free web service that offers you fake credit card details, name, address, and email in case they ask for it, it’s also quite entertaining to watch them struggle when the card gets declined. Below is a dead simple tutorial for setting up a VM using VMware Workstation, you can check Windows website for disk images (.iso files) of the operating system you desire to use.
http://www.wikihow.com/Install-VMware-Workstation-and-Create-a-Virtual-Machine-on-Your-PC
A: Depending on the software they use to access your computer. If they use LogMeIn Rescue, then there will be a box that says “Do you want to allow access?” This would be the point of no return. For programs such as TeamViewer or Supremo, the point of no return is when you give them your ID and password.
B: It's quite easy. Download VirtualBox (http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/5.1.22/VirtualBox-5.1.22-115126-Win.exe) and install it, then download a Windows ISO file (use https://www.heidoc.net/php/Windows%20ISO%20Downloader.exe). Then create a new virtual machine by following the tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uuv3sY97sA to create and install the virtual machine. If you need more help just ask me.
I'd also suggest you create an email account with a relatively popular service (gmail, yahoo, etc.) to further trick the scammers. Don't give them any of your personal information!
Thank you for the reply etnguy, I will check out those links and hopefully will be able to create a VM. If you don’t mind another question: I’m assuming a VM is like a copy of my machine. If so, can they not search around the VM and maybe get my banking info etc.? Also, how much space/memory does a VM take up once downloaded? Thanks again for your time and help. Cheers!
Thank you for the reply @R34P3R#3926, I appreciate your patience. I’ve never heard of FireRTC or Google Hangouts, but I’ll do some research. I was just going to call from my phone while blocking the number, or does that not work? Also, I’d love to do as I’ve seen others do and actually go to a store to buy gift cards. I was even thinking about putting say $1 on them so they seem legit. If I did this, would they see there’s only $1 on them, or do they just get notification that the card is legitimate? Hope you don’t mind all the questions, but I can’t stand what these people do to gullible or elderly people, and I want to get right into this baiting thing. Cheers!
@Scam_Stalker#3939 A virtual machine is not a copy of your computer; rather it is a “virtual” computer. A program (VirtualBox, VMWare, etc.) emulates a computer. From within the virtual machine, it behaves like a new, separate computer. The scammers won’t be able to find banking details.
How much space does a VM take? It depends on what you install. A Windows installation takes about 20-30 gigabytes. The "hard disk capacity" setting when creating a virtual machine is only a maximum limit unless set to allocate all disk space immediately. The virtual machine file grows as more space is used up by the virtual machine.
Hopefully this clears up your questions.
@Scam_Stalker I also recommend you have a VPN also just in case a Scammer attempts to grab your IP - I’ve never had this happen but I’ve heard about this happening to others - just be careful.
Also I would recommend that you install some programs on the VM before calling the Scammer - to make it look like a genuine machine - Scammers never used to care about this but they do now. Just install some programs from Ninite and you're all set.
I agree FireRTC is the best when it comes to calling Scammers - however it only works with US numbers and not British ones.
Everyone has a different method/ways that they Scambait - watching some videos should help - it's easy once you become experienced with it.
I have done some tutorials in here and on YouTube how to make your VM undetectable
@Scam_Stalker#3940 They can only see that the card is a valid number until they attempt to process the payment, there are plenty of sites online that will generate card numbers that act legitimate until someone tries to process payment with them, check out fakenamegenerator.com, it creates a fake email(that is usable), as well as a card number that returns as valid until they attempt to process payment. VPN’s aren’t really terribly useful, in most cases you can just restart your router if they do grab your IP, I’ve had it happen but they don’t do anything with it. Good luck!
@ITAdvocate#3946 thanks for replying IT. I don’t normally worry about my IP being discovered since I believe it only leads to my ISP. Please correct me if I’m wrong tho. Cheers!
@Scam_Stalker#3981 If a scammer finds your IP they can find your ISP, browser, OS and the town/city and country you live in, i use CyberGhost because i worry too much because if i say im in the USA when im actually in the UK it could give it away somehow.
@FOXYCallum1#3982 normally the can’t get the browser or the OS you are using with just an IP. They really can’t do much with an IP.
@Afootpluto#3984 I don’t know, im currently talking to one of those Nigerian scammers on a spam email i made and i got him to click a link that shows his IP and some other which you can see here - Screenshot by Lightshot
If i hight light over the second boxes then it will show his device and some others which you can see here - Screenshot by Lightshot.
@FOXYCallum1#3985 that isn’t because of their IP. You got the information from their browser when they clicked the link, not from the IP.
@FOXYCallum1#3985 that isn’t because of their IP. You got the information from their browser when they clicked the link, not from the IP.
@Afootpluto#3987 Oh i didn’t realise that, i thought they could get all of that just from a IP. My mistakes. Thanks for telling me though ?
Hi everyone, I am new to scambaiting but I have posted a video of a tech support scammer getting access to my VM. The scammer called my elderly dad up but luckily I answered the phone. Any tips for someone new to this?
I use deep freeze so scammers can’t do any damage to a computer.