SDC Rewards Member
Upgrade yours now
.png){kind=icon}
Aussie Dad ‘scams the scammers’ to give them a taste of their own medicine, but then the scammers retaliated…
Scam callers are a menace to society. They target unsuspecting and vulnerable people, promising rewards or warning of unauthorised charges in bank accounts, only to swindle money out of their hapless victims. But wouldn’t it be fun to make them taste their own medicine?
An Aussie on Reddit - a popular social news website - shared that his dad was having the time of his life pranking fraudsters. He saw a TV segment that featured a Kitboga-like takedown of scam centres, inspiring him to engage scammers and waste their time on his own. For readers who are unaware, Kitboga is the name of a professional ‘scammer of scammers’, who posts highly entertaining videos on Youtube of him wasting scammers time and generally leading them up the garden path.
Kitboga is a content creator on YouTube who has gained a following for his videos of pranking phone scammers
The Aussie dad pulled the scammers legs by telling them to f*** themselves in singsong and interrogating them for hours using lines he heard from the TV program.
However, the scammers started hitting back. The dad’s number now appears to have been added to a ‘hit list’, which means that his phone rings all day, every day. The callers either hang up or scream profanities at him.
So far, the dad is still enjoying annoying the online crooks, with his daughter saying it is still ‘a bit of a game’ to him. He is not alone in the joy - ‘scam baiters’, referring to internet vigilantes fighting and exposing scammers, have been making their rounds on the internet for some time now.
Aussies also share their experiences with scam callers on TikTok, a short-form video-sharing platform. A word of caution before watching the video: the user plays audio of animals fornicating for the fraudster
Many Reddit users found the dad’s antics entertaining but also offered advice or suggested caution.
A concerned Redditor urged calling the phone company: ‘They could block all foreign numbers from your dad's line, for example, or just stop virtual numbers, or maybe even prevent any number that's not on a list of approved numbers you give them.’
Another recommended a Telstra feature: ‘If he's with Telstra, you can get a Call Guardian phone, which forces people calling to announce their name before the call goes through.’
This video explains how Telstra’s Call Guardian 301 works.
Meanwhile, others shared their own funny experiences. A user tried to one-up the scammers: ‘Had a call where they said Amazon charged my account for an iPhone. I pressed the button to speak to an operator and asked if they could send the iPhone to my place since I paid for it. They hung up on me.’
The scammers apparently don’t select their targets well, as another user revealed: ‘I once had a mate hold one of these [guys] on the line for over an hour talking about how they could beat his current electricity bill. He lived on a farm in the bush and was completely off-grid.’
One had the unconventional method of stopping the phone calls - a Redditor used his ‘creep skills’ to make conversations sexual: ‘I treated these people like they were my personal phone sex operators. Every call and conversation quickly turned sexual. Turns out my creep skills are too much even for these thieves.’ He hasn’t heard a peep from the scammers since!
But on a serious note - these fraudsters target everybody, so how can you protect yourself?
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications encourages exercising caution for scam prevention. Credit: DITRDC
The rule to remember is this: ‘If in doubt, don’t.’ The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) summarises it best: ‘Don’t answer, don’t click on links, don’t give personal details, and don’t give money.’
You can also block numbers, but this may be only helpful temporarily - scammers often use multiple numbers.
And while the Aussie dad’s approach certainly is amusing, it is also not advisable as it could lead to more engagement and retaliation. The better way is to let calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail - if they leave a message, verify if the contact details match what is available online.
Do you have funny stories involving scam callers? Or maybe more tips to share with SDC members to prevent fraud? We’d love to know in the comments below.
