Scambaiting...should a Christian do it?

[Adventistguy]

As a Christian, I have been wondering if it is ok in God's eyes if I "scambait". For those who don't know what scambaiting is, let me explain: You get a scam email(called a 419 Nigerian scam) and someone(usually in Nigeria or another country in Africa) is offering you millions of dollars if you help them transfer funds(of course, it is a scam, and they only want your bank information so they can steal your money) into your bank account. A scambait is when you reply to one of these emails, and you make up some persona(like giving them a fake name) and waste as much of their time by stalling, etc, before you either reveal that you are a scambaiter or they finally put 2 and 2 together and find out that you are duping them.
Now, my question is: should a Christian do this? I mean, yes the scammers are criminals, but should I scambait them and lie and such just to strike back at them?
Thanks and I would love to hear everyone's input. If there are any other Christians on here that have scambaited, then tell me what you think about it.
Thanks and peace from Christ!

 

[woobadooba]

As a Christian, I have been wondering if it is ok in God's eyes if I "scambait". For those who don't know what scambaiting is, let me explain: You get a scam email(called a 419 Nigerian scam) and someone(usually in Nigeria or another country in Africa) is offering you millions of dollars if you help them transfer funds(of course, it is a scam, and they only want your bank information so they can steal your money) into your bank account. A scambait is when you reply to one of these emails, and you make up some persona(like giving them a fake name) and waste as much of their time by stalling, etc, before you either reveal that you are a scambaiter or they finally put 2 and 2 together and find out that you are duping them.
Now, my question is: should a Christian do this? I mean, yes the scammers are criminals, but should I scambait them and lie and such just to strike back at them?
Thanks and I would love to hear everyone's input. If there are any other Christians on here that have scambaited, then tell me what you think about it.
Thanks and peace from Christ!

If scambaiting them would prove to be useful in having them prosecuted for their criminal act, then yes, it would be appropriate. However, if the objective is to just annoy them, then I say don't waste your time on the losers that are doing this. There are more productive things to do with your time.

 

[Adventistguy]

That's a good point. Id contact the authorities, but to be honest, I wouldn't know WHO to contact(authorities here in the States or the authorities in Nigeria/scammer's country).

 

[Jimlarmore]

Another thing to consider is that two wrongs don't make a right. If you are lying you are lying it's that simple and that black and white.

God Bless
Jim Larmore

 

[Sophia7]

That's a good point. Id contact the authorities, but to be honest, I wouldn't know WHO to contact(authorities here in the States or the authorities in Nigeria/scammer's country).

I would suggest contacting the FBI. I think they have some info about these scams on their website. EDIT: I found it. See this link.

 

[RC_NewProtestants]

If you enjoy baiting them then I think it is fine, you are just playing the game that they are playing, You already know that they are not who they claim to be. They don't have any real idea who you are they just have a name from an email list so you could be anyone.

I would guess that in a small way wasting their time may save someone else from falling for their scam. But I would guess not too much because they probably send out copies of pre-made correspondence so I don't know that you waste all that much of their time. They already have to be prepared for someone who thinks they are legitimate.

Personally I just click the spam button on my email program. There is also some internet sites which allow you to report these things but I don't think they do that much because you can hide an IP address pretty easily. so there is often nothing that can be done until someone is way down the process of exchanging money.

 

[Adventistguy]

@Sophia- Thanks for the link!

And the Holy Spirit is still inside me and just making me question if I should scambait or not. I have done it once before, and it was pretty fun, but like I said, Im still questioning it. For me, the whole point boils down to: Is it ok with God? Yes or no? It doesn't matter what I think or what I feel, all that matters is what God says.