45. Call Centre Crooks: How do you catch a scammer?
鈥淩oger鈥� makes his money by scamming old ladies. But 鈥渟cam-baiter鈥�, Jim Browning, has had enough of scammers and is taking the law into his own hands to stop the likes of "Roger".
When 80-year old Kathleen is called up by a nice man from her computer company she does not suspect foul play. And when he tells her that she is owed a refund, she follows his instructions.
Scams costs victims millions every year and the problem is only growing. 鈥淪cam-baiter鈥� Jim Browning has had enough of scam-calls and has decided to use their own tricks against them. It is illegal and dangerous work. What Jim discovers is chilling. Scams are a huge industry that involves large call centres and thousands of 鈥渆mployees鈥� that are evaluated and promoted based on their ability to scam unsuspecting victims out of their life savings.
On this episode, hosts Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen discuss what might motivate someone to earn their living from scams; and what motivates others, like Jim Browning, to take the law into their own hands. We discover the chilling fact that even the most tech-savvy and internet literate can become the victim of a scam.
CREDITS
Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen
Producer: Louisa Field
Assistant Producer: Simona Rata
Music: Matt Chandler
Editor: Rami Tzabar
Academic Consultants for The Open University: Dr Lara Frumkin and Dr James Munro
#BadPeople_大象传媒
Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland
Bad People is produced in partnership with The Open University and is a 大象传媒 Audio Science Production for 大象传媒 Sounds.
Podcast
-
![]()
Bad People
True crime stories and insights into why people do bad things.
