Scammers have always existed, but they have gotten much more sophisticated in recent years. With technology making it easier than ever to get in contact with people, many scammers have turned to the internet to find their next victims. Unfortunately, there are new scams so frequently that it can be difficult for people to keep up. Many of these scams result in people losing large amounts of money, and sometimes people even lose access to their social media and email accounts on top of it. Even people who think they are being cautious can still find themselves in the middle of a scam if they don’t know exactly what to look for. However, the internet’s most popular video-sharing platform has become a surprisingly helpful tool for people to avoid being scammed. Keep reading to learn how YouTube is preventing people from being scammed.
Common Scams
At the moment, there are countless scams circulating the internet, and that number is only going to keep growing in years to come. However, below is a list of some of the most common scams. While it’s true that anyone can fall victim to a scammer, certain groups of people are more likely to be targeted. For example, many scammers prey on elderly people with the hope that they will not be tech-savvy enough to figure out what’s going on.
Gift Card Scam
Unfortunately, there are several types of gift card scams. The one that happens most often involves an unsuspecting person receiving a phone call claiming that they owe a company money. The scammer will then instruct the person to purchase gift cards with high dollar amounts to pay the balance. The scammer will then ask the person for the gift card numbers and steal the money.
Car Warranty Scam
Have you ever gotten a phone call claiming that the extended warranty on your car was about to expire? If the answer is yes, there’s a very good chance the call was a scam. Oftentimes, this scam involves a fraudulent phone call that suggests you purchase a new warranty before your current one expires. The scammer will sell you on a non-existent warranty with hopes that you’ll take the bait and pay thousands of dollars.
Unauthorized Purchase on Amazon
Amazon is one of the largest online marketplaces in the world, which has turned its customers into a popular target for scammers. This scam involves an Amazon customer receiving a phone call that claims that fraudulent activity was detected on their account. In reality, however, the scammer is just trying to get the person’s Amazon log-in information.
YouTube Accounts That Expose Scams
Several YouTubers, who are also talented hackers, have made it their mission to not only expose how scams work but to also expose the people behind them. In their videos, these sophisticated computer gurus pretend to be an easy target for scammers. They allow themselves to be taken through the scam while filming the entire thing. Oftentimes, the YouTuber will purposely misunderstand the scammer’s directions in order to frustrate them. At the end of the video, the YouTubers use their hacking skills to expose the scammer’s real identity.
Scammer Payback
This YouTube channel currently has more than 1.4 million followers and the number just keeps growing. Scammer Payback posts videos that expose a variety of scams. Not only does he educate his subscribers on what to look out for, but his videos are also fun to watch because he always comes up with creative ways to expose scammers. Through his work, he has been successful in causing dozens of scammers to quit their ‘jobs’.
Scambaiter
As the name of the channel suggests, Scambaiter is all about baiting scammers and then showing the world who they really are. According to the channel’s description, “Scambaiter, scambaiting videos where we destroy scammers their operation after hacking / ratting the scammer their computer. Memz, nanocore, anything will be used to destroy them. Inspired by people like Jim Browning, Scammer Payback and ScammerRevolts. Together as the scambaiting community we can make a difference.” The channel currently has a million subscribers from all over the world.
Kitboga
Kitboga’s approach to exposing scammers is as thorough as it gets. As a result, he has grown his channel to more than 2 million followers. He routinely wastes scammers’ time so that he can walk his followers through the scammer’s most commonly used scripts. Sometimes, he even manages to scam the scammer. His channel has a wealth of information that people can use to prevent themselves and their loved ones from getting scammed.Amazon
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