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Everything seems trivial when you trivialize the problem. Sao Paulo has an extremely high crime and violence rate aside from any dating app kidnappings. The c

Everything seems trivial when you trivialize the problem. Sao Paulo has an extremely high crime and violence rate aside from any dating app kidnappings. The city and country's problems extend far beyond dating apps and redirecting resources from other violent crimes to "stinging" all the bad actors on dating apps won't magically solve things for them or even reduce their overall violent crimes with their resources shifted. They've no doubt already caught multiple people performing these kinds of kidnappings, but it's just a drop in the bucket.

TechBro8615 4y ago
I wonder if this could be solved with a properly run NGO that works internationally with law enforcement in the most dangerous countries to setup these stings while doing most of the heavy lifting, so police can focus on the rest of their problems and just show up to arrest the sting targets. This is also the sort of problem that could get easier to deal with over time, like a pile of dirty dishes. The idea of a sting for kidnappers is like a reverse double catfish, which seems a lot more dangerous than a regular catfish like Chris Hansen might use. One difference is that there's no question of the intent of the kidnapper, since you can't categorize them as one until they _actually try to kidnap someone_. It's not like they tell you on Tinder that they're going to take your wallet and condoms before throwing you in a well (or even that you're talking to a catfish). Whereas a "pedo sting" can (sometimes controversially) label someone a "pedo" as soon as they agree to meet up with an underage decoy; there's no need to physically interact with them to elicit evidence of their guilt, unless you're Chris Hansen and/or need to film it for your vigilante YouTube channel. That difference alone is enough reason to make amateur vigilante groups a bad idea in the context of "reverse catfishing" violent criminals (not that I wouldn't watch some of these YouTube "pedo hunters" use themselves as cartel bait). And perhaps it makes it too dangerous for even an NGO. But I suspect a dedicated team of a few hundred professionals could make a difference.
- unixhero 4y ago
  Which would be a a good way to get shot in Sao Paulo.

TechBro8615 4y ago

I wonder if this could be solved with a properly run NGO that works internationally with law enforcement in the most dangerous countries to setup these stings while doing most of the heavy lifting, so police can focus on the rest of their problems and just show up to arrest the sting targets. This is also the sort of problem that could get easier to deal with over time, like a pile of dirty dishes. The idea of a sting for kidnappers is like a reverse double catfish, which seems a lot more dangerous than a regular catfish like Chris Hansen might use. One difference is that there's no question of the intent of the kidnapper, since you can't categorize them as one until they _actually try to kidnap someone_. It's not like they tell you on Tinder that they're going to take your wallet and condoms before throwing you in a well (or even that you're talking to a catfish). Whereas a "pedo sting" can (sometimes controversially) label someone a "pedo" as soon as they agree to meet up with an underage decoy; there's no need to physically interact with them to elicit evidence of their guilt, unless you're Chris Hansen and/or need to film it for your vigilante YouTube channel. That difference alone is enough reason to make amateur vigilante groups a bad idea in the context of "reverse catfishing" violent criminals (not that I wouldn't watch some of these YouTube "pedo hunters" use themselves as cartel bait). And perhaps it makes it too dangerous for even an NGO. But I suspect a dedicated team of a few hundred professionals could make a difference.

unixhero 4y ago
Which would be a a good way to get shot in Sao Paulo.