4 ms·

Thanks... that seems really labor intensive.

solardev 2y ago
Labor is dirt cheap in some parts of the world, especially compared to the tens of thousands of dollars American retirees might have access to!
- Scoundreller 2y ago
  My deep and probably founded fear is that I’m on a list of people to scam in 40 years when I’ll be at least mildly demented. Hopefully my efforts to waste scammers time instead of “just hang up” has got me removed from a few high-value lists.
  - zaik 2y ago
    You think scammers 40 years in the future will use a target list of phone numbers from today?
    - Scoundreller 2y ago
      Why not? People don’t really change their phone numbers much anymore and phone numbers have become increasingly individualized.
dragontamer 2y ago
It's done with slave labor. It's called pig butchering. You kidnap people, hold them in Cambodia or whatever (lots of locations where local criminal gangs rule) so the locals don't bother checking for literally kidnapped slaves. If police stop by, pay them off and make up a story about debts and punishment. Then you use the slaves to scam others in pig butchering scams. If the slaves refuse, you beat them until they comply. https://www.propublica.org/article/pig-butchering-scams-raided-cambodia-apple-trafficking https://www.propublica.org/article/pig-butchering-scams-raid...
- solardev 2y ago
  Thanks! That's a much better link and explanation than what I linked to.
- Double_a_92 2y ago
  Btw this is also used as a sob-story tactic by the scammers if you eventually call them out after some time.
  - willcipriano 2y ago
    Yeah a lot of it happens in office buildings in places like Nigeria. People wearing business casual clothes and everything. At first glance it just looks like a normal company.
- dotancohen 2y ago
  So reply asking if they want you to notify authorities in their city. I doubt that the kidnappers are reading every message. And even if they are, better to let the kidnappers know that they are being encroached upon.
  - otterley 2y ago
    These outfits are often working under the protection of the local authorities thanks to rampant bribery.
    - dotancohen 2y ago
      That's why the initiative has to come from outside.
      - nullstyle 2y ago
        It sounds like you’ve developed a very special set of skills, Mr. Neeson. This situation is a little more complicated than to be solved by a back and forth on the hacker news comment section.
danesparza 2y ago
But with big payoffs.

Labor is dirt cheap in some parts of the world, especially compared to the tens of thousands of dollars American retirees might have access to!

Scoundreller 2y ago
My deep and probably founded fear is that I’m on a list of people to scam in 40 years when I’ll be at least mildly demented. Hopefully my efforts to waste scammers time instead of “just hang up” has got me removed from a few high-value lists.
- zaik 2y ago
  You think scammers 40 years in the future will use a target list of phone numbers from today?
  - Scoundreller 2y ago
    Why not? People don’t really change their phone numbers much anymore and phone numbers have become increasingly individualized.

dragontamer 2y ago

It's done with slave labor. It's called pig butchering. You kidnap people, hold them in Cambodia or whatever (lots of locations where local criminal gangs rule) so the locals don't bother checking for literally kidnapped slaves. If police stop by, pay them off and make up a story about debts and punishment. Then you use the slaves to scam others in pig butchering scams. If the slaves refuse, you beat them until they comply. https://www.propublica.org/article/pig-butchering-scams-raided-cambodia-apple-trafficking https://www.propublica.org/article/pig-butchering-scams-raid...

solardev 2y ago
Thanks! That's a much better link and explanation than what I linked to.
Double_a_92 2y ago
Btw this is also used as a sob-story tactic by the scammers if you eventually call them out after some time.
- willcipriano 2y ago
  Yeah a lot of it happens in office buildings in places like Nigeria. People wearing business casual clothes and everything. At first glance it just looks like a normal company.
dotancohen 2y ago
So reply asking if they want you to notify authorities in their city. I doubt that the kidnappers are reading every message. And even if they are, better to let the kidnappers know that they are being encroached upon.
- otterley 2y ago
  These outfits are often working under the protection of the local authorities thanks to rampant bribery.
  - dotancohen 2y ago
    That's why the initiative has to come from outside.
    - nullstyle 2y ago
      It sounds like you’ve developed a very special set of skills, Mr. Neeson. This situation is a little more complicated than to be solved by a back and forth on the hacker news comment section.

danesparza 2y ago

But with big payoffs.