A Day In The Life Of A Scam Chaser

People know that I am a scam chaser, but they don’t know what that entails. So, with this post I hope to enlighten everyone on what it all takes to try to save people from the insidious scams that are a plague on social media.

I don’t chase scams every day. I would if there were people to cover my every-day responsibilities. However, real life goes on around me and I need to participate in it as well. But, some days you just know the day will be used up chasing a scammer or two.

Today was one of those days. I woke up and checked the groups I moderate.   A scammer that we call a “deposit scammer” had invaded one of them with a post. I removed the post and banned the scammer. After ensuring the rest of the groups were clean I became “scam chaser”.

This means I did a search for that scammer name to find any other groups they had posted in. After finding numerous posts, I took screenshots of them and saved them. Many people need proof that a scammer is a scammer.  The photos help.

My next move is to combine those screenshots into one photo.  I share the photo with my warning message in those groups where the scams appear. This takes time, but it’s important because many times people don’t want to believe that it’s really not legitimate.

I set up a second browser with my husband’s profile in it because after I start to warn people in the groups, the scammer will know what I’m doing and will block my profile. When I’m blocked I will not be able to see the scammer or their posts, but my husband’s profile will. His account will be doing the searching from here on out.

Searching for the most recent posts, so I can hopefully prevent any victims right away, I find the ones that show up on top of the list. As a scam chaser, the next move is to open that group in my own profile and post a warning in that group about the scam and scammer.

This sounds easy enough. The problem is that:

1. 1. 1. Many times the warnings sit pending waiting for admin approval since I am not a member there

      2. Some groups have admins who don’t like getting their ego bruised when someone tells them there is a scammer in their midst. They remove the warnings and keep the scam post.

      3. Some groups are run by scammers and it is fruitless to post a warning in those groups because it will be automatically removed

So, I usually peruse the group a bit before posting a warning. If various scams fill the group, I check out the admins. If they have scammer profiles or look compromised, I don’t bother to leave a warning. A reminder to myself is necessary: We can’t save everyone and it’s not worth wasting time in a group where a warning would be futile.

If everything looks fairly normal, I create a warning post. Some people would suggest posting anonymously, but I don’t do that. As a scam chaser, I want people to know who I am and be able to see that I am legitimate myself. My profile contains a link to my scam chaser education group (Facebook Sleuths Deconstructing Scammers that they can join if they are so inclined.

The wording of the warning post may vary depending upon the particular group. It’s important to let people know why it’s a scam and how to avoid becoming a victim.

If my warning post is pending and I know there is a potential victim who commented I may try to send that person a private message to warn them personally. It doesn’t always work because messages from strangers go to the other folder that few people check.

After posting warnings to that group, it’s time to move onto the next one. Going back to my husband’s profile I choose the next group with the scam post in and repeat the process. After I warned all the groups, I refresh the search and check “recent posts” to see if any new ones appeared in the time I warned the rest.

As you might guess, this can take a large amount of time just to save a few people from one scammer. A prolific scammer can post in many groups in a short amount of time. Is it worth it? I think so. Most of the victims of these scammers are desperate people who don’t have anything they can afford to lose. The scammers don’t care.

Some days it’s a thankless job. Scammers have occasionally sent nasty threatening private messages when you steal victims from them. Some people tell you to shut up and go away, they don’t want to hear what you are warning about.

But when you save someone, it makes it all worth it. Being a scam chaser isn’t for the faint of heart or the lazy. It’s for the warriors who care.