Discover how online vigilantes are combating scams and turning the tables on fraudsters, as reported losses soar to over $12.5 billion in 2024.
Image: Dani Simmonds/Adobe Stock
Chances are, you or someone you know has been the target of a scam. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), reported scams cost Americans more than $12.5 billion in 2024—a 25% increase from the previous year. But as scams grow more sophisticated, so do their opponents.
A growing number of online vigilantes are flipping the script, turning the scam on the scammers—and racking up millions of views in the process. Mashable’s Chris Taylor recently spoke to a few who’ve turned scambaiting into full-time work.
Rosie Okumura got into scambaiting after her mother was tricked out of $500 by a pop-up on her computer. Now, she channels her acting skills—mimicking well-known voices like Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian—to waste scammers’ time while entertaining her audience. Her YouTube channel, IRLrosie, boasts most than 1.6 million subscribers, with another 1.2 million followers on TikTok.
“I feel like teaching people how to avoid scams is better than helping someone who’s lost a ton of money, or putting myself in a dangerous situation,” Okumura said.
Ashton Bingham and Art Kulik, the duo behind the YouTube channel Trilogy Media, also have 1.6 million subscribers—but they take their scambaiting offline. Their most-watched video, “Hunting a Scammer with Cops,” has amassed more than 5.6 million views since its 2022 release. In it, Bingham and Kulik team up with law enforcement to confront a “refund scammer” in person, armed with $40,000 in fake cash and a camera crew. With a subscription platform, Trilogy+, and a freshly signed deal for an unscripted TV show, scambaiting has become a profitable venture.
Some scambaiters argue that by wasting a scammer’s time, they’re preventing real victims from being defrauded. But whether this tactic actually reduces online fraud is still debated. Research has also flagged ethical concerns, as some early scambaiters used racist, extreme, or even violent methods when confronting scammers.
Still, for Okumura, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “The best part is getting recognized at restaurants,” she told Mashable. “They will comp my bill!”
