Beyond the Prank: The Hidden Expertise of TSS Scambaiters

This research studies how Technical Support Scams (TSS) are being countered by a uniquely dedicated community of volunteer counter-fraud operatives. Using a careful subject selection strategy, we interviewed 17 individuals who actively engage in TSS scambaiting activities in order to obtain insight into their motivations, the operational methods of the scammers they combat, the undocumented nuances of effective scambaiting action, and the various challenges scambaiters face. In our analysis, we find a community rich not only with insight into offenders, but with technical and operational expertise that is often lacking in research efforts targeting these same populations. At the same time, we find key areas where the community could be better supported and enabled. We discuss the implications of our findings for both future research and community protection strategies.

• Security and privacy → Social engineering attacks; Social aspects of security and privacy; • Human-centered computing → HCI design and evaluation methods.