I have a scammer's phone number. Now what?

Question

I'm trying to ruin a scammer's day (fake check scam). I have his phone number. I am able to call (and record) and text him. He is also willing to mail items to my house. What can I do to find out more about them using social engineering or through service providers? How might I be able to build a case against him, or scare or stop him from continuing scamming people?

I know I can call the FCC to report it, but I feel like that won't do anything. I also understand that I likely wont be able to get very far in following his trail.

since your own information security, you probably have some hacker friends or are a hacker yourself, and use social engineering to get his password — noɥʇʎԀʎzɐɹƆ, Aug 04 '16 at 18:43

score 74 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 04 '16 at 15:21

74

Inform law enforcement.

You can't "build a case" because as a layman you likely have no idea about proper police procedure. Most evidence you collect will likely be inadmissible in court. You might in fact also break laws while you collect evidence (for example, recording phonecalls without the consent of the other party can be illegal in some places).

Attempting to scare them is a really bad idea. Remember that you are dealing with a criminal. That criminal might be violent or have contact to violent criminals. So when you try to intimidate them, they might turn that around and start to intimidate you instead.

answered Aug 04 '16 at 15:21

Philipp

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I can't speak for other countries, but this is the the correct response if you're in the United States. You inform law enforcement, and let them take it from there. Don't take matters into your own hands. – Mark Buffalo Aug 04 '16 at 15:34
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Best case scenario you encountered a solo operator, and he gets scared. Worst case scenario you piss off a criminal boss and now he wants to silence you. Giving it to the police is the safest thing for you to do. – Nelson Aug 04 '16 at 16:36
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As tempting as it is, and as frustrating as it is that these criminals may not see justice, taking measures in to your own hands is borderline illegal and absolutely dangerous. – h4ckNinja Aug 04 '16 at 16:52
Question -- wouldn't they realize who it was who reported them and get pissed off at you that you reported them to law enforcement? – user541686 Aug 05 '16 at 00:51
I think the accepted answer should explain what the police should then do. You just passed the buck. – bobuhito Aug 05 '16 at 02:00
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@MarkBuffalo Best way I've heard this phrased: "Don't do what Batman would do" – Aug 05 '16 at 02:10
There's an entire community of scam baiters that sit around and waste scammers time. Having listened to more than a few of these conversations, you quickly realize it isn't Tony Soprano doing these scams, but more like unscrupulous call center employee. i.e. there's little actual risk in scamming these people back as long as you don't use your real phone number. Threats are likely ineffective (and potentially counter-productive), but wasting time is. – Steve Sether Feb 15 '19 at 22:27

score 29 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 04 '16 at 16:36

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I call and text my scammer every month or so. I let them know that I finally got the funds available and that I am ready to send them the money. I ask the same, basic questions, over and over. I send confirmation numbers that are missing key digits. I make up intricate stories about why it didn't go through.

I try to take up as much time as I can from them because:

Every moment they spend with me they are not scamming someone else.
I find it amusing.

answered Aug 04 '16 at 16:36

Anthony Genovese

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This won't work without pt. 2 (finding it amusing). One must like trolling people to do that, otherwise it's way too tedious and I highly doubt it does really noticeably help anyone. – Display Name Aug 04 '16 at 17:34
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I like trolling certain types of people. Scammers are in that group. – Anthony Genovese Aug 04 '16 at 18:31
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You could even go one step further and automate this process. – Jacobr365 Aug 04 '16 at 18:36
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You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. – Zack Aug 04 '16 at 19:40
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@Jacobr365 That would be the biggest win ever – tomsmeding Aug 04 '16 at 19:58
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If you want to waste scammers' time, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRhRImp6kKQ and then enjoy all of the recordings of "Lenny" doing just that. Then install Lenny or use a service that redirects the scammers' calls to it. – Monty Harder Aug 04 '16 at 22:06
@Jacobr365 "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" "Is it plugged in?" – ave Aug 04 '16 at 23:33

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 04 '16 at 20:50

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You could post it on a scambaiter website or otherwise provide it to the scambaiting community. They have a lot of experience with how to deal with them, and as a community they might have better resources, more information, and a better anonymity (in case the scammers might decide to retaliate) than a lone individual like yourself.

answered Aug 04 '16 at 20:50

vsz

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Although I like this answer, there's a minor problem with such a site: it's a great place to "out" someone as a scammer who is actually not, just because the reporter wants to make life difficult for someone. For example, Donald Trump would like to punch me in the face, but he doesn't know where I am, so … – WGroleau Aug 05 '16 at 00:13
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I would think that the scambaiters would ask for some kind of evidence that the scammer is in fact one before harassing the scammer with calls. It isn't a problem unless the website being posted to harasses its victims without verifying their identity. – March Ho Aug 05 '16 at 01:30

I have a scammer's phone number. Now what?

3 Answers3

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