What to Say to a Scammer to Scare Them: Our Expert Tips

Published: 10/11/2024By: Toby Jacob

Scams are unfortunately prevalent in today’s society, and you can encounter a scam online, over the phone, or even through email. If you have spotted that something is a scam, you may be tempted to say something back to the scammer you are dealing with. You may also want to try and scare them or waste their time, making it difficult for them to keep scamming others.

Our article gives you some ideas of what to say as well as discussing the risks of potentially responding to a scammer who has contacted you.

How Can I Tell if Something Is a Scam?

If you aren’t sure whether or not something is a scam, these tips can help you figure out if the person contacting you is legitimate or not:

The text of the message or email has bad grammar, strange spelling, or just otherwise seems “off”
You are being asked to click on a link or download something from a suspicious source
You do not recognize the person you are speaking with, texting, or emailing
You are being bombarded with urgent requests to pay something, hand over money or gift cards, or provide your personal information
The person you are talking to is trying to convince you that they are from a government entity or agency, but their phone number and tone does not match this claim
The person you are interacting with is trying to convince you that your money, gift cards, or information can help out someone you love

It’s important to note that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is, and if something feels suspicious, like it could be a scam, it typically is. Use your common sense and carefully evaluate the people or websites you are interacting with to ensure that your personal information and data are protected.

Is It Wise to Try and Scare a Scammer?

Responding to a scammer is a risk, and you will need to decide for yourself whether or not reaching out to a scammer and trying to scare them or waste their time is worth this risk.

For many scammers, all they need is a hint of contact so they can wrap you up in their plans. They may end up getting your information or personal data accidentally, even if you do your best to hide this in your responses.

With other types of scammers, all the scammer wants is a response to confirm the phone number or email address they have is legitimate. They may then sell your information to other scammers or store this information for future use.

With any interaction you have with a scammer, it is always important to stay alert and protect your own information – this is more vital than trying to scare a scammer or teach them a lesson. Most scammers don’t care about what they are doing and will simply move on to the next potential victim if they see that you aren’t willing to send them money or information.

Things to Say to a Scammer to Scare Them

When you are dealing with a scammer, you may want to say something back to them in order to scare them or simply waste their time. While we cannot recommend this, as interacting with any kind of scammer may put your personal information at risk, there are a few things you could say to a scammer that might make them leave you alone.

Things to say to a scammer to scare them or bother them include:

Replying to a text message as if you are an automated message service – this wastes time and can leave scammers scrambling to figure out if your phone number is legitimate.
Copy and pasting their message back to them – this causes confusion, and the scammer may leave your number alone.
Telling the scammer that they have been reported – for very new scammers, this can scare them enough to get them to leave your phone number or email alone.
Making up information to answer the scammer, playing along with their scam – doing this can make it seem like they have found a victim, but you are simply wasting their time with fake information.
Asking questions to the scammer and pretending like you know them – this can make contact with you too much trouble for a scammer, and they may leave you alone and stop trying to scam you.

Keep in mind that sometimes, all a scammer is looking for is a reply to confirm that the information they have on you is correct. If you do reply to a scammer, you could be putting yourself at risk of more scammer contact or spam in the future.

How Do I Report a Scammer?

You can report a scammer in a few different ways, depending on the type of scammer you are dealing with.

If you have had your Social Security number stolen, or if you are dealing with a scammer who is claiming to be from a government entity, you can use the U.S. Government’s Scam Reporting Tool. This tool will ask you some questions about the type of scam you have encountered and provide you with resources for understanding your next steps and reporting the scam.

If you are dealing with a scammer that operates over email or text message, you can report the email address or phone number directly to your email operator or cell service provider. Make sure that you block any suspicious email address or phone number to stop a scammer from reaching out to you again in the future.

Can I Recover Money Stolen by Scammers?

It is virtually impossible to recover money or information once it has been stolen by scammers, and you should always keep this in mind. Attempting to get back at a scammer or recover your money might actually put you at a greater risk for continued scams.

A recovery scammer is someone who preys on victims of scams who may have lost their money. These scammers convince victims that they can somehow return their money or help them teach the scammer a lesson. They may charge a fee for this, or ask for a portion of the money that was lost.

However, once you give them your information and the details of the scam, or once you give them any amount of money, they will simply steal it and not help you.

If you do find yourself a victim of any kind of scam, the best thing to do is accept your loss, report the scam, and keep in mind the signs of a scam to protect yourself in the future.

How Can I Protect Myself From Scams?

Protecting yourself from scams starts with protecting your online footprint and ensuring that you do not give out your information needlessly or recklessly online. In general, when you are interacting with unknown websites or phone numbers, you should double-check the security of these numbers and ensure they are legitimate.

You can keep in mind the most common signs of scams, such as poor website design and bad English in text messages, and you should never click a random link that has been sent to you.

Examine all web addresses by hovering over the URL to ensure it is taking you to the right place. If you do need to put your email or phone number into a website, consider using alternate accounts to protect your privacy.

When in doubt about whether or not something is a scam, always stop interacting first and close out any web pages or hang up the phone. You can conduct research afterward to determine if you were interacting with something legitimate, but the chances are that if something seems like a scam, it probably is.

Things to Consider When Dealing With Scammers

Scammers are often callous people who do not care about who ends up becoming victims of their scams. The main goals for scammers are the collection of money and information from the people they are in contact with. You should keep this in mind, along with our other helpful tips about interacting with – and protecting yourself from – scammers:

Scammers will try and get as much information out of you as possible before they abandon their conversation with you. If you do interact with a scammer, it’s important to keep this in mind and refrain from giving any personal details out.
Sometimes, all a scammer wants is a reply from a number or email address to confirm that it is real and valid. Interacting with one scammer may actually open you up to more scams in the future.
Never click on links or anything else a scammer sends you. This includes avoiding downloading files or other items, even if you are very curious, because these items typically hold spyware or malware.
Do not threaten a scammer, as this can give them the reaction they want. Instead, the best way to upset a scammer is to waste their time and make them think that they are dealing with a victim willing to give them money or information.

Again, you should always remember that when you choose to interact with a scammer, you are doing so at your own risk. Too much engagement with a scammer can put you in a position that opens you up to more scams. You should always tread carefully to ensure you don’t accidentally lose access to your information or personal data.

Keeping Yourself Safe Online and Offline

Dealing with scammers can be dangerous at times, but mostly a scammer’s approach is just annoying to put up with. Once you have successfully identified a scam, you can take the time to figure out if you want to play along with the scammer to waste their time or if you want to try to scare them away from talking to you.

Whichever method you decide to go with, it’s important that you keep your privacy and safety both online and offline in mind. Never give out any personal details, click on links, or provide a scammer with more information they can use to harass you.