Navigating the Shadows of Cyber Vigilantism: A Preliminary Analysis of Social Dynamics and Activities of Scambaiting

From 2017 to 2022, the Internet Crime Complaint Center docu- mented an increase of 266% complains for online scams. The complexity and constant evolution of these scams pose a challenge for the existing legal system, which appears ill-equipped to effectively combat them. A new movement emerged known as “scambaiting”, individuals who autonomously take on the responsibility of advocating for others and fighting against scammers. Leveraging online platforms, these individuals champion causes and educate the public, preventing further victimization. Scambaiting techniques range from entertaining activities, like wasting scammers’ time, to illegal ones, such as hacking. This form of cyber-vigilantism represents a novel and under-explored research, especially in term of human-infrastructure. Through the analysis of ten transcripts of discussions involving a sample of scambaiters, we aim to explore the social dynamics and activities of scambaiting; giving insights on collabo- ration, actors, and challenges within the scambaiting community. Additionally, we present suggestions for future research.