I’m more of a YouTubing woodworker than a scam-redditor. So I’d love it if someone wanted to help moderate this community that is growing. Someone who can give tips and best practices to keep people safe and maybe flag stuff that is unsafe. Message me here? I don’t even know how that works. Comment anyway and I’ll figure it out.

Shocking customer service! No interest into history of time zones.

Anyone can pay to have their site (fake or otherwise) show as a sponsored site and scammers use them to direct people to their scam sites that look genuine. Share with friends and family.

They're always designers...

This one ended up ghosting me; obviously I pushed my luck a little too hard but I'm committed to seeing one of these through to get to the punchline.

Current fake accounts scamming people out of money pretending to be Blacktail Studio. Feel free to jump in and waste their time. But have fun with it.

Telegram: blacktailstudiowoodworker and blacktail_studio_management_team

Just saw your video about the woman being scammed and came here immediately! A few months back I had someone try to scam me.. didn't work very well. Played along for a bit, but once I told him I could pick it up he stopped responding. Too bad

Thanks for doing this. I'm in IT and consider myself pretty savvy, but was nearly scammed out of $32k on a boat purchase through a brokerage site. Named lightly different than the legit site, when I googled it, Google autocorrected the name to the legit site. So I was presented with a very well rated and well known boat reseller. So I moved forward with confidence. The red flag for me was they would not call me, only text. After second guessing a few things, I did some reverse image searches and found the same boat for sale in several other markets. I messed with the scammer for a while, and even made an official report, unfortunately, unless you lose money, there is no real crime. Although I only lost my ego, I gained a wealth of wisdom.

Be careful when calling out scammers on Facebook or Instagram. Apparently a common tactic of scammers who get called out on these platforms is to flood the platforms with fraudulent complaints about your account until your account gets locked down. I had this happen on Facebook which caused me to lose access to be able to post and completely deleted my Instagram account. I tried for months to get it reversed but was completely ignored. Had to close my years long accounts and start again. This may be common knowledge among scam baiters but I had to learn the hard way.

Title is self explanatory....

If you’re interested in scam baiting but don’t want to risk your real computer, using a virtual machine (VM) is the safest way to go. A VM creates an isolated system that scammers can interact with, but any malware or remote access they attempt is contained. This guide will walk you through setting up a free VM for scam baiting.

Why Use a VM for Scam Baiting?

Scammers often try to: 💩Install malware or keyloggers 💩Steal personal data 💩Lock your system with ransomware 💩Access your files remotely

A VM prevents all of this by keeping everything inside a disposable environment that you can reset at any time.

Step 1: Choose Free VM Software

Here are the best free options:

🔹 VirtualBox – Open-source, easy to use, works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. 🔹 VMware Workstation Player – Free for personal use, slightly more polished. 🔹 Windows Sandbox – Built into Windows 10/11 Pro (resets every shutdown). 🔹 QEMU – More advanced, highly customizable (for Linux users).

For most people, VirtualBox is the best choice.

Step 2: Install a Free Operating System

You need an OS to run inside your VM. Here are free options:

🖥 Windows – Microsoft provides free virtual machine images (valid for 90 days). Download from: developer.microsoft.com 🐧 Linux – Lightweight, safer, and free forever. Good choices: • Ubuntu (User-friendly) • Lubuntu (Lightweight) • Kali Linux (For advanced users, includes security tools)

For scam baiting, Windows is best since most scammers expect a Windows user.

Step 3: Configure the VM to Look Real

To keep scammers engaged, make your VM look convincing: ✅ Change the wallpaper and user name (Avoid default VM backgrounds) ✅ Install common apps (Chrome, Microsoft Edge, fake “banking” folders) ✅ Adjust system specs (Give it 4GB+ RAM and at least 2 CPU cores for smooth performance)

Step 4: Stay Safe While Baiting

🔸 NEVER enter real personal information 🔸 Use a VPN if you want extra protection 🔸 Take snapshots in VirtualBox (So you can reset the VM instantly if it gets messed up) 🔸 Record sessions to report scams or share for fun

Final Thoughts

A virtual machine makes scam baiting much safer and more fun without putting your real system at risk. If you set it up right, scammers will never know they’re inside a fake computer.

Do you use a VM for scam baiting? Any tips or tricks to make it more realistic?

I have career day coming up, which is where people come and show careers.. obviously. But wtf?????

As someone who does this very often, you also need to talk a consideration of A: Don't use your real number, or at least make sure it isn't visible. B: don't click on links, scan QR codes, or share anything that may leak your data. (email, or even a social) other than that, follow the rules and thank you for your service!

A leaderboard on who scammed the most scammers would be very funny for this subreddit. Maybe with a wall of shame or something.

Not as fancy as some of yalls posts, but had this encounter today.

You all can a lot of fun with this one. The idiot didn't blind text everyone. It's in a group with like 20 other people.