Scambaiting - TIPS FOR ME!

General Discussion
2

Hi and welcome (back). I recently summarized the topics you addressed (I’m not in the US so some things are different on my end), maybe helpful for you get get an overview:

1. General scambaiting tutorials

These 2 are the most useful tutorials (covering all kinda topics)

Here are some other tutorials or posts with collections of tips + tools:

2. Virtual machine
Setting up a VM

I picked VMware as I got it set up pretty fast (the other popular one is VirtualBox) and decided to go with WIN 10.

I followed How to make a VM with VMware Workstation pro 15! and it worked perfect for me even if I used a newer VMware version (17.6.0)

While being a lil confused on how to download VMWare Download VMWare Workstation I found a good video tutorial:
Download and Install VMware Workstation Pro for FREE he gave simple instructions (and you will loooove his accent :sweat_smile:)

To get the Windows 10 ISO download the “Create Windows 10 installation media” tool, run it and it will create the ISO file (previously you could just download the ISO from their homepage).

Alternatively you can use a pre-made scambaiting ISO (I had some issues customizing it, but it’s cool):

Hiding your VM

Final check to see if it worked:

  • run devmgmt.msc to check if any of the devices still has a VMware name
  • run appwiz.cpl to check if you see VMware in the programs and features
  • run msinfo32 and dxdiag to check for VMware traces in the system summary / Diagnostic tool
  • run taskmgr to check for VMware under performance

Note: I read that there are more hidden VM leftovers, but I assume this should be enough to get started.

Personalizing your VM
  • Install a couple of programs via “Ninite”: A tool to quickly fill a VM with “normal-looking” programs don’t over-do it, I installed to many and my VM slowed down and I got a ton of pop-ups from the programs
  • Fill your browsers bookmarks a little
  • Set a wallpaper (for those like me that didn’t know: even if your Windows is not activated you can right click on any image and hit “Set as desktop background”… right-clicking on the desktop to “Personalize” doesn’t work)
  • Create a scambaiting identity: Fauxid is the most extensive I found
3. Setting up a phone

To dip a toe in the scambaiting water I tried to start with free phone services from various posts but I also looked into some paid versions (Remark: Most of issues I experienced are because I’m not in the US)

Free phones
  • textnow (the most referred tool by scambaiters)
    It’s close to impossible to create a working textnow account from outside the US. You CAN trick the Microsoft Store (with a VPN + setting your “Region” in Windows to US) BUT in order to create an account you need to download the app on your phone and you need a google account that is set to the US (same with google voice below). I also read that you need a US telecom provider like AT&T, … but I can’t confirm that.
  • Google Voice
    The problem with using google voice from outside the US is not solved in just switching your VPN location. The bigger problem is that the google account itself is set to a different country. You CAN switch your location in the google account (only once per year a hidden in the depths of the settings) BUT as this might affect other apps that I’m using on my phone I did not risk going down that road. Creating new google accounts w/o having a new physical phone is close to impossible nowadays (and unfortunately everyone forces us to to sign in via google… one might think that this is on purpose :roll_eyes:).
  • Skype
    The free part of Skype is pretty easy to gain some experience in scambaiting, after registering you can directly call toll-free US numbers (800/888/877…) for free (just make sure to NOT link your private number to Skype).
    The downside of the free approach is that you don’t have a number, so scammers might not pick up and they can’t call you back (which is a tactic sometimes with the toll-free numbers).
  • talkatone
    Does not have a desktop version and I don’t want to get my mobile involved (and using an Emulator in parallel to the VM might slow down my PC).
    I tried to install it on my phone anyway for testing and I was able to install it from the playstore, but it looks like you can’t sign up for new accounts anymore.

There more free phone services mentioned in different posts but most of them triggered my security programs so I did not test them any further (Globofone, freetring, poptox, citrustel, …).

In the end having your own scambaiting number(s) is the goal, so I looked at commercial alternatives:

Paid phones
  • Skype
    You can rent a US number from outside the US, which costs around $7/month (I tried it but due to some payment issues with my credit card I have to start over again).
    You can either buy Skype credits and pay per minute or use a subscription plan for around $3…10/month (just to get a feeling for the costs).
    For a newbie like me this is the best way to start scambaiting (I don’t need several numbers in this stage)
  • I guess there are alternatives to Skype but I haven’t tried them yet.

Most posts advice to get a Softphone and a VoIP/SIP provider.

THIS IS WORK IN PROGRESS I WASN’T ABLE TO GET IT RUNNING YET

Softphone (free, I found 3 mentioned a couple of times)

  • PhonerLite free
  • MicroSIP free
  • ZoiPer free = 2 numbers / paid ($65) = unlimited numbers?
    Without having a VoIP/SIP provider I can’t really say much about them.

VoIP/SIP providers (this is the paid part)

  • voip.ms
    price indication: calls $0.01/min, per phone number $0.85/month
    Drivers licence or passport needed (scanned)
  • Zadarma
    price indication: calls $0.012/min, per phone number $2…4/month
    Passport needed (scanned)
    For the registration they need a working phone number for OTP + email (funny: they didn’t accept proton or Hotmail but 10minutemail worked :roll_eyes:)
  • Telnyx
    price indication: calls $0.002/min, per phone number $1/month
    Passport needed (via onfido)

I do understand the verification by scanning a document but this is a no-go for me in this stage:

  • I don’t know these companies
  • A scanned document might end up in someone else’s hands and (surprise) I might be scammed
    I assume if I stop sh**ing my pants this is a good way to go…

Some posts I got the alternatives from (so thanks to the ones that posted em)

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