Hey shrimp, love the videos on your channel, and especially enjoy your scambaiting. This is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, I just wanted to share. I think the scambaiting conversations are much better when you’re the one writing out responses, instead of an AI. You’ve got such a great personality and wit that shines through whenever you’re actually writing out lines to a scammer or narrating, but that doesn’t come across when the responses are automatically generated by an AI. I understand the AI helps make scambaiting on Instant Messaging services easier, so I’m not saying to stop doing it, since it scambaiting is a good thing to do. But, it would be nice to have more of your personality in the scambaiting like in many of your earlier videos, instead of the responses mostly being handled by a soulless AI. No matter what, though, I really enjoy your channel and your personality. Keep up the good work.
No offence taken, and yeah, I agree (and thank you for your kind compliments) - I think the DeepAI thing has pretty much run its course here - maybe I'll invite it back for a small cameo in some future videos, but I don't think I'll do another one where the whole of my side of the conversation comes from it
I'm in agreement here. The AI responses feel ridiculous - mostly due to the fact that the scammers don't catch on to how insane the "ramblings" are - but also bland and soulless. It's way more interesting when there's a person's wit behind the baiting.
I mean, I do think it's an amazing and fascinating bit of technology, and I think there's something very interesting about the way the output text is both engaging to the attention and simultaneously impenetrable to understanding, but that doesn't make it the right fit here, at least not so much.
@@adambomb13 i found this delightfully random and all over the place, and loved the idea of the scammer trying to piece it out... a one-shot cameo with this software was fun... but yeah, Looking forward to a more atomic-y series of responses in future videos
I just kinda zoned out during the ai generated story in the Monica Flange bit of the video. It was amazing, I don't know what it was about, but I am rooting for Monica's village.
@@perrovg5846 sounds like you are married or in long relationships. a lot of girls when trying tell their stories sounds just like AI generated text from this vid. you are trying to ubderstand what does she say but then your brain goes like "fuck this shit, im out" and shuts down to prevent brain damage
i'm glad he got his channel back. it was scary to see someone as smart as Jim could get caught up in something like that. it's a very good lesson for everyone, NO ONE IS INVULNERABLE TO SCAMS.
@@Attilablabla Also mentioned on Pierogi's channel and others. Really like to see how it happened. Massive warning how a non-monetary (cash/gift card) scam can be achieved. Malicious hackers are as bad, if not worse, than scammers.
@@bigguy7353 you're missing several details that made it work in the first place. Jim is a very smart man, but no one is invulnerable. All it takes is for the scammer to say the right things or just seem believable enough and if you're not being 100% aware you can get caught out. That's what happened with Jim. Just so happened to hit him at the right time, and it's put together in such a way to target a UA-camrs weak spot - their adsense. Combine that with an email that comes from a legit Google account and a very believable support chat, and there are only very minor details that give it away that are easy to miss, especially if you already believe it may be real.
15:05 In the case of the Titanic, it was an accumulation of bad luck: bad weather, nighttime, unusual place for an iceberg to be, and, most importantly, the fact that such a big ship simply cannot steer fast enough to avoid this kind of obstacle at this kind of speed (because the Titanic *was* steering full left (port side) when the iceberg was detected). Same thing with scams: a bad day, dried up bank account, just lost a job, etc, make a victim more susceptible to fall for a scam, not because they are stupid, but rather because they those scams bring them hope for a better future.
Something similar was what happened with the Costa Concordia - Captain initiated a sail-by salute, instructed the helmsman to accelerate to 16 knots, and you know the rest.
One thing that comes across in so many videos you make is how empathetic you are, which I admire immensely. Thank you for spreading that quality to your viewers.
Imho, I wish more people were as empathetic towards these things like he is. No person can foresee being scammed, and realizing that is the most important thing.
I love how like 30% of the time your utter gibberish makes complete sense to them. It's like if you just keep using words, eventually you stumble onto their language. I tear up from those bits it's so funny. lols
Makes me wonder if they run the text through Google translate once its recieved. I hear it tries very hard to make meaningful sentences out of anything that's imputed so makes me wonder if it makes the paragraphs more comprehensible to the scammers.
It's just utter thirst - someone who writes replies like an AI appears completely dizzy and uninformed about the entire subject, which makes them juicier targets.
@@riftvallance2087 and it's especially bad with context, so if the scammer knows that, they might try to fill in the blanks themselves, and somehow end up with text that makes sense to them.
I saw Jim Browning's video about nearly losing his UA-cam account. It makes me feel better about the close call I had. I also appreciate how often you remind people to never give out personal information, you know, the kind you never share with strangers on the internet. Keep up the good work.
@@oz_jones It can also be a coincidence. They can call when you are actually expecting a call from that company, which is what happened to me. I was having a back and forth with Telstra, and so when they called as Telstra I didn't doubt it, until they had no idea what was going on and wanted me to install remote access software.
I think he does it because of the one (I think it might have been John warosa origins?) Where the scammer insisted about twice an email that he was not a small boy
I'm so glad you mentioned the Jim Browning incident. Because that's such a great opportunity to stop this shaming of scam victims by painting them as ignorant, foolish, incapable etc.. by using him as an example that, yes, this can happen to anyone! You explained everything I would have touched upon too, so if I continue I will just retred the same ground you did. But thank you for mentioning it!
I think the shaming of scam victims would disapear if we spent more time showing real scams like the one Jim browning had instead of "look at this dumb all caps poor grammar scam no one could be fooled by this"
“I’m not even sure common sense exists.” Serious food for thought there. I used to work in an ice cream shop, and people would do such ridiculous stuff. For example, putting a used tasting spoon directly back into the container I just gave them it from, or asking to taste the bacon flavored doggie ice cream. Very good combo of entertainment and wisdom in these videos
It exist, as we are all born with critical thinking skills. It’s just certain society dynamics causes people not to care, and assume they have a right to do anything.
@@Jenna2k it’s supposed to taste like a dog treat but cold. They use a separate recipe for the dog ice cream that uses something (idk if it was soy, almond, coconut, etc) milk instead of actual milk, doesn’t have sugar, and is low in fat (so the dogs don’t get sick). It’s really not edible for people (a coworker tried it because of course he did). Even after I’d explain all that people still wanted to taste it.
Also, to the people that think that scams are too obvious and victims who fall for it are stupid/naive: This is blaming the victim. The victim didn’t do anything wrong, they simply made a mistake - which is really easy to do if you’re not in the right set of mind or simply are not aware of scams. Watch out, people, for everything on the internet. It is never your fault, but rather the cruelness of the perpetrators
@@jokersdoll1779 Google’s definition of a victim: “a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.” So being scammed, which is a crime, harms you economically, so yes, victims of scams are victims. What are you on about?
Not to mention that these mistakes may be caused by desperation. If, for example, you tell a broke 9-5 worker that they could be rich if you just buy your "get rich quick" course, of course they would buy it; they need money to sustain their food supply, bills, housing, etc. So telling these people that they are morons and they deserve their money taken is extremely insensitive
Don't take this as negative, but I can't watch these videos. The DeepAI stuff is just on the right level of almost making sense that I can't deal with it - my brain is constantly working overtime trying to understand it and make sense of it even though I know it's word salad, and I find it legitimately exhausting. I hope the scammers find it as unpleasant as I do.
I did try to follow along at the beginning but I managed to snap out of it and couldn't stop laughing, partly at myself for trying to follow it but mainly because I knew the scammer would not know it was intensionally gibberish !
This. It's not clever or funny, it's just brain-breaking to watch. Remember when scambaiting used to be clever and witty on this channel? (see: "Let's tell the scammer we already have the money")
@@ian-c.01 my brain was trying to pick up on some sort of logical thread too, oh my gosh it hurt my brain. But I got a lot of unexpected laughs as after hearing something so completely ridiculous after trying to focus. 'The caller told me they were all dead' after talking about 2 non-existent children at length. Its frustrating but funny
@@fionagregory9147 They're cards that you can load money onto, and then give to somebody for use at a specific store. For example, say somebody wants to get me craft stuff, but doesn't know what craft stuff to give me, then they can give me a $25 gift card to a craft store instead.
Somehow the AI generated part of "Monica's" story reminded me of Clive Barker's Hellraiser storyline. A photograph that can destroy a village... entertaining, but super creepy
@@SaberVS7 In a weird way these sentence generating AIs remind me of some of the earliest Chess playing AIs, they basically can't remember more than a single step back and can't plan more than a single step forward. It sounds almost like someone with a memory or speech center problem speaking, they get the meanings of some words, and how those words are associated with others, but that's about it. You can see that in how easily they lose focus, how North Carolina is mentioned almost immediately after South Carolina, and their tendency to say things that sound like well known plot threads.
I was thinking of someone who is expressing themselves in a language he hasn't mastered. I once knew a guy who spoke very broken english. It was similarly confusing and exhausting to try to understand him as these AI conversations.
It almost sounds like a scammer without any script or direction, they spell correctly most of the time and use almost correct grammar, but it makes no sense when you try to read meaning from it.
@@jakepullman4914 I’ve dealt with people who were in 2nd/3rd stage Alzheimer’s and sometimes other disorders like bipolar disorder - they would talk very similar to that
I cannot believe how hard I laughed at this! The way you calmly read through the AI-generated, self-contradicting, irrelevant stories is simply golden! From reading other comments, I feel like I'm in the minority with this, but I would absolutely love another episode like this!
When you started listing all the names I was really hoping that the Soul Called Mr Barrister John Warosa, and his colleague John Barosa were going to make the list!
Either for good or bad its amazing how much luck plays a part in our lives Jim's circumstances all lined up for him to believe the scam was more authentic than what it truly was. Thank you and everyone trying to raise awareness of scams new and old.
As a man with Mexican relatives, I can confirm they are not permitted to ship to Mexico. It's incredibly inconvenient that Mexico does not have a national postal service but does have an international one.
Just to say I actually really enjoy the AI responses - I laughed till I *cried* when it started naming all the plaintiffs! That said, I also really enjoy the responses you write yourself, so it's win/win either way as far as I'm concerned.
I think you put it really well in another video. That at anytime someone is more or less vulnerable to scams. The emotional or financial vulnerability that scammers pray on changes day to day, and while you might feel immune to scams today, it’s a dangerous mindset to develop. Be scared, and be aware. Don’t forget that these are criminals and some are very well trained.
Same. I am an artist, and it's too much like the times people who get my business card at craft shows call me when they get high and try to pitch "collaborations" and I keep having to steer them back to whether or not they plan to pay me for this elaborate project they're rambling about. (No, because they provided The Idea! umm, that makes it a commission, which costs more than my own stuff, not less.)
When will we hear from Merton Snerden again? He's easily my favorite character. He sounds like a more threatening version of Jason Statham. Or is he staying under the radar after the last job in London?
Holy shit the comment about "common sense is just something I already learned and keep on being surprised about when I discover other people haven't learned it yet" is perfect. I haven't been able to put into words why this phrase has always irked me, it just seemed like a cop-out to call other people stupid without good reason, but you phrased this the way I could not. Well done, absolute best part of the video.
I was distracted watching your Weird Stuff In a Can videos that I forgot you did scambaiting, that's why I love this channel, you always get a little of everything in this channel.
I like to think I'm smarter than the average bear, nor am I any spring chicken, but I too was nearly scammed a little while back, in a similar way to Jim. Coincidence and distraction... I had changed something with my PayPal account and then almost immediately got what appeared to be a legitimate email from "PayPal" urging action. It was to my email address where I don't really receive spam emails, and it all seemed plausible. It wasn't until I had almost entered my credentials on a website linked that I noticed the actual URL. This was a few months ago and probably if not for watching Shrimp's videos around then (and having scams at least somewhere in the back of my recent memory), I probably would have gone through with it. And, to be clear, when I watched Shrimp's videos initially, I didn't really feel like I was learning anything new, just mostly being entertained. Bottomline, it's much safer (and more accurate) to think "I can be scammed" than "I could never be scammed!" No matter who you are.
As someone who has been the victim of scamming, I appreciate you speaking out on us. I don't think I'm stupid, I just made a dumb mistake. It wasn't an email scam or an advanced fee scam. I ordered something online and the person stated delivery would take longer than the PayPal safety net where you can reclaim your money. In hindsight it was a stupid thing to do. I lost around £300. What I appreciate are these videos where people spread awareness and get a little revenge on scammers. ❤
a significant amount of value from these videos the algorithm has shown me are these FAQ segments where you make very reasonable, insightful comments about scams, scammers, and victims.
Oh my goodness, that conversation you had with the scammer absolutely fried my brain. I'm not sure I'll ever be the same after all that complete nonsense 😆
Especially when you consider most of them barely speak English and try to automate or rely on scripts as much as possible. When someone goes this far out of their usual template they haven't the slightest idea of what to do.
But that's the thing, they don't really try to understand it, because they don't care. That's why their response is superficial, and they hammer wanting payment
Hello dearest. It gives of me the greatest joyful to listen, with my hearing ears, to The Shrimp of Atomic reading scam emails verbatim, and not withstanding, the untold (or told) grammatical and syntactical inclusion. It would provide to me very much delightful humour, imaging him with my thinking head, reading this comment within his exalted tones. Many contribulations and thankfulness, your forever server, Dr Rev Professor.
I have a little book where I collect quotes that I like or that somehow stand out to me and your little sidetrack about the non-existence of common sense just became my newest entry. Was not expecting that in a scambaiting video.
Its amazing what greed does. the thought of getting your money kept the scammer reading paragraphs and paragraphs of nonsense :) Look at all of his time you wasted..
I had a feeling Jim Browning would come up in this video. The Spiffing Brit got caught out by this scam as well, and he's no slouch with technology. You make a very valid and important point about all this. I teach Computing at a grammar school, and in my e-safety lessons I tell the class that assuming they won't be tricked because they're smart is exactly *why* they will get tricked.
As funny as the little AI stories are, I really hope he gets another E-mail scammer on the hook soon. I find those much funnier than the Instagram ones. Keep up the Good Work Shrimp! 😁
This is my favourite scambaiter channels, I love that you add comedy to it. Jim Browning getting scammed was a horrible shock, as I have alot of respect for him, Also surprising because they normally pick on people more oblivious and it shows it could happen to anyone, (Something you have said many times.) However it was important to highlight how it happened so people can find out what to look out for.
The random stories - it kills me when they start out so normal, and then take a *HARD* left turn into complete gibberish. The fact that he's/you're reading them in that monotone voice makes them into run-on sentences, so by the time you realize nothing makes sense, he's two or three sentences into the block of text. Hilarious.
Yep, the brain tries to make sense of confusing inputs - took me some time after my fourth stroke during which dreams seemed to augment reality. Could have been the medication, though, while I was recovering.
I love the fact that they're trying to send you a life changing amount of money for literally no reason, but they somehow can't afford paying the fees.
When you started talking about common sense...I have seen that so many times over many years. You stated it very well. There seems to be some inherent drive for many to try and show how smart they are. It's almost always in hindsight as you said. While people vary widely on intelligence due to all sorts of reasons, I've never understood the stance of, "I'm smart. You're not" in all its glorious renditions. One example: I made a comment on a video about a WWII skirmish near the Solomon Islands. I stated that my grandfather was on PT-107 and was in the area when JFK's PT-109 was rammed by a destroyer. Person commented that I needed to "check my facts" as the 107 was not in the area. Ugh. Well, after providing proof, that person deleted their comment. Everyone makes mistakes. That is, indeed, a fact. However, before one claims superiority in such, well, I belabor the point. Suffice to say, common sense is indeed a misnomer at best and perhaps an attempt to somehow try and portray a possible falsehood in mental prowess. Why that is...oh, that's possibly a 10 book series on its own. Cheers!
For those interested in learning more: Search on Leland Sherman Gosnell and/or PT-107. My dad recounted some of the experiences on the 107 which can be found on a few websites dedicated to such topics. There are pictures of the 107 as well. My grandfather is in at least one. Kneeling on the bow - he's the balding guy. I see the pattern on me!
Shrimp I really appreciate and respect your takes on common sense and the egoistic sense of invulnerability people can have when witnessing others failures. They were very well formed arguments and I find myself agreeing with you. Thanks for the great content!
If anybody asks me why people fall for scams, or tells me they'd never fall for one I tell them to read Robert Cialdini's masterpiece Persuasion. That book is a real eye opener.
i really appreciate your response to Jim Browning's experiences. it' is a very generous and compassionate one, and serves to help us be more generous and compassionate.
Have you tried changing the cost of the scam? Ie you'd be willing to pay £700 instead of £600, then £800, and just change the total every time they respond?
Long time ago, you (and other scambaiters) inspired me to start doing the same. And I still find so much joy (and inspiration!) in your videos. Thank you for all that!
I laughed so hard at the nonsense sob story from the generator. It sounds just plausible enough to make a scammer think they're dealing with person with dementia, or perhaps a senile politician. The world needs more people defeating evil with nonsense. Thank you for doing it!
Another great video. I appreciate your professionalism and the context you provide when doing your videos, from unique food reviews to scam-baiting, it's given me a broader perspective on not only scams, but unique foods (lol)
I received an email from my bank the other day asking me to update a certain document. They gave me the option to email it to them as an attachment but, thinking of your videos, I went to my branch and asked if they had sent such an email. They did. It was all legit. But better safe than sorry!
Same. Common just means what is the normative rule for a society or certain groups. Now we know using Mercury or other chemicals and substances is dangerous and to some extent "common sense", but the victorians didn't. We are a product of our time. Who knows what would be considered common sense in the future
Yes. Common sense implies some common knowledge held by every person, as if everyone can simply know better without being taught. Critical thinking is a process - you analyze something you see in front of you, maybe do a little research, and figure out if its legit or not.
@@Normandy-e8i This latest Atomic Shrimp video is great too. Check it out below, check out a video about what you've got at the supermarket. So in these two hours of video, you might see a whole lot of little things about this shrimp, and it's easy to understand why: this is amazing and unique.
@@CreepyboomGamer Simple is sometimes good of course. But if you are a student who wants to learn how to drive safely and effectively, then I'd suggest taking it.
Your foraging videos and tinned food reviews are so engaging I completely forgot you did scambaiting as well until this popped up in my subscriptions! Your channel is like a seven-course meal! Keep up the good work!
I guess the AI generated chat isn't everyone's cup of tea but I found it strangely compelling and funny. It really felt like two human scammers having a back and forth. I also loved the sidebar on common sense, it's easy to forget that not everyone is us.
I just love your semi obscure references and the way your mind works overall. I just discovered you about a week ago and can’t get enough. Keep up the good work!
I would like to thank you for doing what you do. I got a phishing email a few days ago, saying something about a bad address on a parcel, and since I did order something from abroad that day and my address contains some special characters that sometimes give foreign computer systems trouble, I very nearly fell for it. I believe the main reason I realised what's up was the work of this and similar channels, exposing scams and showing that we all have to remain vigilant.
The DeepAI stuff is amazing. It's so close to English that it's plausible to anyone who doesn't speak fluently but complete nonsense to a fluent speaker.
Hey shrimp, love the videos on your channel, and especially enjoy your scambaiting. This is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, I just wanted to share.
I think the scambaiting conversations are much better when you’re the one writing out responses, instead of an AI. You’ve got such a great personality and wit that shines through whenever you’re actually writing out lines to a scammer or narrating, but that doesn’t come across when the responses are automatically generated by an AI. I understand the AI helps make scambaiting on Instant Messaging services easier, so I’m not saying to stop doing it, since it scambaiting is a good thing to do. But, it would be nice to have more of your personality in the scambaiting like in many of your earlier videos, instead of the responses mostly being handled by a soulless AI.
No matter what, though, I really enjoy your channel and your personality. Keep up the good work.
No offence taken, and yeah, I agree (and thank you for your kind compliments) - I think the DeepAI thing has pretty much run its course here - maybe I'll invite it back for a small cameo in some future videos, but I don't think I'll do another one where the whole of my side of the conversation comes from it
I'm in agreement here. The AI responses feel ridiculous - mostly due to the fact that the scammers don't catch on to how insane the "ramblings" are - but also bland and soulless. It's way more interesting when there's a person's wit behind the baiting.
I mean, I do think it's an amazing and fascinating bit of technology, and I think there's something very interesting about the way the output text is both engaging to the attention and simultaneously impenetrable to understanding, but that doesn't make it the right fit here, at least not so much.
@@AtomicShrimp I like both methods :) Keep up the great work
@@adambomb13
i found this delightfully random and all over the place, and loved the idea of the scammer trying to piece it out...
a one-shot cameo with this software was fun...
but yeah, Looking forward to a more atomic-y series of responses in future videos
What Atomic Shrimp doesn't realize is that he sent a bunch of money to that scammer, but doesn't remember it because his memory was wiped.
The warning signs were there when he said he uses his paypal to ward off predators
@@broadsword6650 or double glarded with Fund Thrust...
@@ARandomSpace excellent point!
@@ARandomSpace Yes, yes, yes... But has the chain been blocked and the block been chained?
@@AnthonyHandcock yesterday was a day that yesterday was
The AI generated text is probably what my friends hear when I try to explain things
Oh God. When you're mid-ramble and realize you're rambling, so you ramble on to make sense of the previous rambling... It's rambling all the way down
Yes, I found it a very good explanation of music theory.
@@Jacob-mo7yw essentially how I talk all the time. Either that, sounding drunk(when I’m tired), or using a foreign accent.
HELP IKR
Dw some times i randomly start talking in french german or dutch i know 2 of them better than the English.
Imagine actually working for the Nigerian ministry of finance
Oh man, that killed me!
Ministry of Finance office
Omg...roflmao... i will think of that next time im having a rough day! Thank you!
I read that as "the Nigerian ministry of France" :)
Lmao right, every email I ever sent explaining who I am would go straight to spam 😭😭
I love how the one time Deep AI managed to string together a coherent statement in your scambaiting was describing the flaws of cryptocurrency.
Interesting isn’t it?
“Gift cards are used by small boys to remind them that things didn’t, in fact, go wrong when they did.”
- Mrs. Monica Flange, July 7, 2021
I just kinda zoned out during the ai generated story in the Monica Flange bit of the video.
It was amazing, I don't know what it was about, but I am rooting for Monica's village.
I LOVED that story and I want to hear more of it.
Dude same, my mind kinda goes blank during the "backstory" part
@@perrovg5846 sounds like you are married or in long relationships. a lot of girls when trying tell their stories sounds just like AI generated text from this vid. you are trying to ubderstand what does she say but then your brain goes like "fuck this shit, im out" and shuts down to prevent brain damage
@@maksymy.7348 lol
@@maksymy.7348 If your in that situation you might wanna consider planning to leave. That sounds like a horrible relationship.
i'm glad he got his channel back. it was scary to see someone as smart as Jim could get caught up in something like that. it's a very good lesson for everyone, NO ONE IS INVULNERABLE TO SCAMS.
Yeah, damn. That scam must have been really intricately and well designed to scam a person like Jim Browning
Thought Jim Browning was hacked but not scammed? He did get his channel back luckily.
If you watch the video you'll hear him mention it
@@Attilablabla Also mentioned on Pierogi's channel and others. Really like to see how it happened. Massive warning how a non-monetary (cash/gift card) scam can be achieved. Malicious hackers are as bad, if not worse, than scammers.
@@bigguy7353 you're missing several details that made it work in the first place. Jim is a very smart man, but no one is invulnerable. All it takes is for the scammer to say the right things or just seem believable enough and if you're not being 100% aware you can get caught out. That's what happened with Jim. Just so happened to hit him at the right time, and it's put together in such a way to target a UA-camrs weak spot - their adsense. Combine that with an email that comes from a legit Google account and a very believable support chat, and there are only very minor details that give it away that are easy to miss, especially if you already believe it may be real.
"Never send anybody any money in advance, in promise of more money"
"But please pay us in advance, for more money"
15:05 In the case of the Titanic, it was an accumulation of bad luck: bad weather, nighttime, unusual place for an iceberg to be, and, most importantly, the fact that such a big ship simply cannot steer fast enough to avoid this kind of obstacle at this kind of speed (because the Titanic *was* steering full left (port side) when the iceberg was detected).
Same thing with scams: a bad day, dried up bank account, just lost a job, etc, make a victim more susceptible to fall for a scam, not because they are stupid, but rather because they those scams bring them hope for a better future.
Something similar was what happened with the Costa Concordia - Captain initiated a sail-by salute, instructed the helmsman to accelerate to 16 knots, and you know the rest.
@@GoredonTheDestroyer I don't. Did the boat sink?
@@dragonick2947 It struck a rock on its port side, which opened a 53 meter gash and it sank.
@@GoredonTheDestroyer Thanks!
@@dragonick2947 Internet Historian has an entertaining video on the subject
One thing that comes across in so many videos you make is how empathetic you are, which I admire immensely. Thank you for spreading that quality to your viewers.
Imho, I wish more people were as empathetic towards these things like he is. No person can foresee being scammed, and realizing that is the most important thing.
I love how like 30% of the time your utter gibberish makes complete sense to them.
It's like if you just keep using words, eventually you stumble onto their language.
I tear up from those bits it's so funny. lols
Makes me wonder if they run the text through Google translate once its recieved. I hear it tries very hard to make meaningful sentences out of anything that's imputed so makes me wonder if it makes the paragraphs more comprehensible to the scammers.
I guess if you throw enough words around they'll only read the ones they can understand.
It's just utter thirst - someone who writes replies like an AI appears completely dizzy and uninformed about the entire subject, which makes them juicier targets.
@@riftvallance2087 and it's especially bad with context, so if the scammer knows that, they might try to fill in the blanks themselves, and somehow end up with text that makes sense to them.
I saw Jim Browning's video about nearly losing his UA-cam account. It makes me feel better about the close call I had.
I also appreciate how often you remind people to never give out personal information, you know, the kind you never share with strangers on the internet. Keep up the good work.
Remember that it just takes one bad day, one lapse in judgement.
And I am glad that you weren't scammed, friendo. Keep on surfin', dude.
@@oz_jones It can also be a coincidence. They can call when you are actually expecting a call from that company, which is what happened to me. I was having a back and forth with Telstra, and so when they called as Telstra I didn't doubt it, until they had no idea what was going on and wanted me to install remote access software.
"I dont like PayPal because I can't upload it to Google" was just gold for me.
Absolutely love your take on common sense. "not everyone is you" so very well said. Love it.
Wait, not everyone is me?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
I don't exactly know why but implying the scammers are small boys is my favorite one of the things you do.
I think he does it because of the one (I think it might have been John warosa origins?) Where the scammer insisted about twice an email that he was not a small boy
Same
kitboga does this as well
It's a common scambaiting tactic. Scammers are usually super defensive about their masculinity.
@@area51l that's weird. How could someone who spends their days trying to rob the elderly be insecure about their manliness?
I'm so glad you mentioned the Jim Browning incident. Because that's such a great opportunity to stop this shaming of scam victims by painting them as ignorant, foolish, incapable etc.. by using him as an example that, yes, this can happen to anyone!
You explained everything I would have touched upon too, so if I continue I will just retred the same ground you did. But thank you for mentioning it!
I think the shaming of scam victims would disapear if we spent more time showing real scams like the one Jim browning had instead of "look at this dumb all caps poor grammar scam no one could be fooled by this"
Remember there is no "Scam Invulnerability" power-up in Real Life
“I’m not even sure common sense exists.”
Serious food for thought there. I used to work in an ice cream shop, and people would do such ridiculous stuff. For example, putting a used tasting spoon directly back into the container I just gave them it from, or asking to taste the bacon flavored doggie ice cream.
Very good combo of entertainment and wisdom in these videos
It exist, as we are all born with critical thinking skills. It’s just certain society dynamics causes people not to care, and assume they have a right to do anything.
Asking to taste bacon ice cream is curiousity. I'd ask to taste it.
@@Jenna2k it’s supposed to taste like a dog treat but cold. They use a separate recipe for the dog ice cream that uses something (idk if it was soy, almond, coconut, etc) milk instead of actual milk, doesn’t have sugar, and is low in fat (so the dogs don’t get sick). It’s really not edible for people (a coworker tried it because of course he did). Even after I’d explain all that people still wanted to taste it.
Also, to the people that think that scams are too obvious and victims who fall for it are stupid/naive:
This is blaming the victim. The victim didn’t do anything wrong, they simply made a mistake - which is really easy to do if you’re not in the right set of mind or simply are not aware of scams. Watch out, people, for everything on the internet. It is never your fault, but rather the cruelness of the perpetrators
I wouldn’t go that far buddy-they aren’t a victim-
@@jokersdoll1779 Google’s definition of a victim: “a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.”
So being scammed, which is a crime, harms you economically, so yes, victims of scams are victims. What are you on about?
@@ayumehirano1894 I don’t know my grandad feel bad for me x
Not to mention that these mistakes may be caused by desperation. If, for example, you tell a broke 9-5 worker that they could be rich if you just buy your "get rich quick" course, of course they would buy it; they need money to sustain their food supply, bills, housing, etc. So telling these people that they are morons and they deserve their money taken is extremely insensitive
Also we all make mistakes. It just depends on if we have the bad luck of these scammers being around when we do.
Don't take this as negative, but I can't watch these videos. The DeepAI stuff is just on the right level of almost making sense that I can't deal with it - my brain is constantly working overtime trying to understand it and make sense of it even though I know it's word salad, and I find it legitimately exhausting. I hope the scammers find it as unpleasant as I do.
Yeah, it's pretty brain-overheating
Yeah, I prefer the email scammers. The conversations are relaxing/funny, but this deep ai stuff is really exhausting.
I did try to follow along at the beginning but I managed to snap out of it and couldn't stop laughing, partly at myself for trying to follow it but mainly because I knew the scammer would not know it was intensionally gibberish !
This. It's not clever or funny, it's just brain-breaking to watch. Remember when scambaiting used to be clever and witty on this channel? (see: "Let's tell the scammer we already have the money")
@@ian-c.01 my brain was trying to pick up on some sort of logical thread too, oh my gosh it hurt my brain. But I got a lot of unexpected laughs as after hearing something so completely ridiculous after trying to focus. 'The caller told me they were all dead' after talking about 2 non-existent children at length.
Its frustrating but funny
I'm totally buying a CoinSquirt T-Shirt and then not explaining it to anyone when they ask :-P
@The Orange Knight I am pretty sure the only way to buy saffron is using FundThrust (tm)
You will have to explain it... Otherwise that's a bridge of transaction
Ah, yes. Brooklyn, South Carolina is lovely this time of year.
@@bigguy7353 live close to Brooklyn Center, it sucks there
Actually I once received a letter from the UN offering me £1,5 mil. It was even signed by Benjamin Franklin, seemed legit 🤔
"and three others" after that long list of names ... just great! ❤
"gifts cards are used by small boys as a way to remind them that things didn't, in fact, go wrong when they did."
poetry
Never come across gift cards. What are they?
@@fionagregory9147 They're cards that you can load money onto, and then give to somebody for use at a specific store. For example, say somebody wants to get me craft stuff, but doesn't know what craft stuff to give me, then they can give me a $25 gift card to a craft store instead.
That definition of "common sense" was spot-on.
Somehow the AI generated part of "Monica's" story reminded me of Clive Barker's Hellraiser storyline. A photograph that can destroy a village... entertaining, but super creepy
These AI stories are generated from accumulation of text read into a database - That could have been Sample Data in the system used.
@@SaberVS7 true, but there are still odd object swapping or whatever that AI stories do.
@@SaberVS7 In a weird way these sentence generating AIs remind me of some of the earliest Chess playing AIs, they basically can't remember more than a single step back and can't plan more than a single step forward. It sounds almost like someone with a memory or speech center problem speaking, they get the meanings of some words, and how those words are associated with others, but that's about it. You can see that in how easily they lose focus, how North Carolina is mentioned almost immediately after South Carolina, and their tendency to say things that sound like well known plot threads.
The AI which writes stories sounds like what a person with dementia would tell
I was thinking of someone who is expressing themselves in a language he hasn't mastered. I once knew a guy who spoke very broken english. It was similarly confusing and exhausting to try to understand him as these AI conversations.
It almost sounds like a scammer without any script or direction, they spell correctly most of the time and use almost correct grammar, but it makes no sense when you try to read meaning from it.
Most of the dementia patients I've spoken to make more sense than this.
@@jakepullman4914 I’ve dealt with people who were in 2nd/3rd stage Alzheimer’s and sometimes other disorders like bipolar disorder - they would talk very similar to that
Lol I don't have dementia, I'm just very literal-minded at times and will say stuff that way
I cannot believe how hard I laughed at this! The way you calmly read through the AI-generated, self-contradicting, irrelevant stories is simply golden! From reading other comments, I feel like I'm in the minority with this, but I would absolutely love another episode like this!
This sentency sounding mess from the AI sounds like someone with aphasia, which a scammer should think of as an easy mark.
Ah yes, the Cash Processing Unit, a vital part of any church.
This is more true than a joke
Put the dollah, in the boxah. For the Lordah
Isn't it the MOST important part of any "good" church? 🙄🤷😁👍
Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption :)
Kenneth Copeland probably has one of those
When you started listing all the names I was really hoping that the Soul Called Mr Barrister John Warosa, and his colleague John Barosa were going to make the list!
*Revina John Barosa
Either for good or bad its amazing how much luck plays a part in our lives Jim's circumstances all lined up for him to believe the scam was more authentic than what it truly was. Thank you and everyone trying to raise awareness of scams new and old.
I spat out my tea all over my iPad at "Time is not on our side".
"Well you asked ... " then gibberish did it for me!😆😂
I almost choked to death on milk there.
As someone who lives in Argentina, I can confirm that our postcard to Chile may not be included in Chile Post's worldwide postcards list. Sad. 😩
As a man with Mexican relatives, I can confirm they are not permitted to ship to Mexico.
It's incredibly inconvenient that Mexico does not have a national postal service but does have an international one.
Argentinian here, I confirm it. Maybe that's because Alberto Fernández' funds for Correo Argentino are glarded in a tax clode.
"That's an advanced fee scammer telling me not to pay an advanced fee scammer in advance, good to know."
lmao I took too long to get it
Man i learned a lot about postcards. Thanks so much for the enlightenment!
"Actually, it turns out that the Church of FedEx is really a BMW dealership accepting payment in iTunes cards"
Just to say I actually really enjoy the AI responses - I laughed till I *cried* when it started naming all the plaintiffs! That said, I also really enjoy the responses you write yourself, so it's win/win either way as far as I'm concerned.
It's very kind of you to be so understanding of how people fall for scams rather than just being dismissive.
I think you put it really well in another video.
That at anytime someone is more or less vulnerable to scams. The emotional or financial vulnerability that scammers pray on changes day to day, and while you might feel immune to scams today, it’s a dangerous mindset to develop. Be scared, and be aware. Don’t forget that these are criminals and some are very well trained.
God, I almost feel bad for that Instagram scammer for trying to make sense of your nonsense
_Almost_
Same. I am an artist, and it's too much like the times people who get my business card at craft shows call me when they get high and try to pitch "collaborations" and I keep having to steer them back to whether or not they plan to pay me for this elaborate project they're rambling about. (No, because they provided The Idea! umm, that makes it a commission, which costs more than my own stuff, not less.)
When will we hear from Merton Snerden again? He's easily my favorite character. He sounds like a more threatening version of Jason Statham. Or is he staying under the radar after the last job in London?
Holy shit the comment about "common sense is just something I already learned and keep on being surprised about when I discover other people haven't learned it yet" is perfect.
I haven't been able to put into words why this phrase has always irked me, it just seemed like a cop-out to call other people stupid without good reason, but you phrased this the way I could not.
Well done, absolute best part of the video.
I was distracted watching your Weird Stuff In a Can videos that I forgot you did scambaiting, that's why I love this channel, you always get a little of everything in this channel.
Yeah i love the variety
I absolutely love your FAQs. They're so in tune with kindness and teaching, your personality really shines in these videos.
I like to think I'm smarter than the average bear, nor am I any spring chicken, but I too was nearly scammed a little while back, in a similar way to Jim. Coincidence and distraction... I had changed something with my PayPal account and then almost immediately got what appeared to be a legitimate email from "PayPal" urging action. It was to my email address where I don't really receive spam emails, and it all seemed plausible. It wasn't until I had almost entered my credentials on a website linked that I noticed the actual URL. This was a few months ago and probably if not for watching Shrimp's videos around then (and having scams at least somewhere in the back of my recent memory), I probably would have gone through with it. And, to be clear, when I watched Shrimp's videos initially, I didn't really feel like I was learning anything new, just mostly being entertained.
Bottomline, it's much safer (and more accurate) to think "I can be scammed" than "I could never be scammed!" No matter who you are.
As someone who has been the victim of scamming, I appreciate you speaking out on us. I don't think I'm stupid, I just made a dumb mistake.
It wasn't an email scam or an advanced fee scam. I ordered something online and the person stated delivery would take longer than the PayPal safety net where you can reclaim your money. In hindsight it was a stupid thing to do. I lost around £300.
What I appreciate are these videos where people spread awareness and get a little revenge on scammers. ❤
Your common sense explanation was actually very inspiring. Really liked that.
a significant amount of value from these videos the algorithm has shown me are these FAQ segments where you make very reasonable, insightful comments about scams, scammers, and victims.
I get a strangely nostalgic feel from this sort of content. For some reason it brings me back to the days when I played around on windows xp as a kid
Oh my goodness, that conversation you had with the scammer absolutely fried my brain. I'm not sure I'll ever be the same after all that complete nonsense 😆
Trying to follow your mad rambling messages would be so infuriating, the scammers must be tearing their hair out at this point
Especially when you consider most of them barely speak English and try to automate or rely on scripts as much as possible. When someone goes this far out of their usual template they haven't the slightest idea of what to do.
But that's the thing, they don't really try to understand it, because they don't care. That's why their response is superficial, and they hammer wanting payment
Hello dearest. It gives of me the greatest joyful to listen, with my hearing ears, to The Shrimp of Atomic reading scam emails verbatim, and not withstanding, the untold (or told) grammatical and syntactical inclusion. It would provide to me very much delightful humour, imaging him with my thinking head, reading this comment within his exalted tones. Many contribulations and thankfulness, your forever server, Dr Rev Professor.
your voice-- so soothing: ever think about narrating an audiobook? Wow, I'm slow... you just did awhile back, and I loved it
I have a little book where I collect quotes that I like or that somehow stand out to me and your little sidetrack about the non-existence of common sense just became my newest entry. Was not expecting that in a scambaiting video.
Thanks for making my day, just got a job interview but probably just as excited to watch this
Thankyou for bringing up Jim's issues. No matter how aware we are, we can always become a victim.
Its amazing what greed does. the thought of getting your money kept the scammer reading paragraphs and paragraphs of nonsense :) Look at all of his time you wasted..
I had a feeling Jim Browning would come up in this video. The Spiffing Brit got caught out by this scam as well, and he's no slouch with technology.
You make a very valid and important point about all this. I teach Computing at a grammar school, and in my e-safety lessons I tell the class that assuming they won't be tricked because they're smart is exactly *why* they will get tricked.
As funny as the little AI stories are, I really hope he gets another E-mail scammer on the hook soon. I find those much funnier than the Instagram ones. Keep up the Good Work Shrimp! 😁
This is my favourite scambaiter channels, I love that you add comedy to it.
Jim Browning getting scammed was a horrible shock, as I have alot of respect for him, Also surprising because they normally pick on people more oblivious and it shows it could happen to anyone, (Something you have said many times.) However it was important to highlight how it happened so people can find out what to look out for.
The random stories - it kills me when they start out so normal, and then take a *HARD* left turn into complete gibberish. The fact that he's/you're reading them in that monotone voice makes them into run-on sentences, so by the time you realize nothing makes sense, he's two or three sentences into the block of text. Hilarious.
OT I am watching these years later because they are soothing. Like Radio 4 without the urrgh.
This whole conversation feels like a stroke
Yep, the brain tries to make sense of confusing inputs - took me some time after my fourth stroke during which dreams seemed to augment reality. Could have been the medication, though, while I was recovering.
Sounds like atomic was sleep typing...
One thing I learned today: If scammers start the process now, they cannot go back to the future.
I love the fact that they're trying to send you a life changing amount of money for literally no reason, but they somehow can't afford paying the fees.
That was one of best and most eloquent ways i have heard anyone define common sense. Well done!
When you started talking about common sense...I have seen that so many times over many years. You stated it very well. There seems to be some inherent drive for many to try and show how smart they are. It's almost always in hindsight as you said. While people vary widely on intelligence due to all sorts of reasons, I've never understood the stance of, "I'm smart. You're not" in all its glorious renditions. One example: I made a comment on a video about a WWII skirmish near the Solomon Islands. I stated that my grandfather was on PT-107 and was in the area when JFK's PT-109 was rammed by a destroyer. Person commented that I needed to "check my facts" as the 107 was not in the area. Ugh. Well, after providing proof, that person deleted their comment. Everyone makes mistakes. That is, indeed, a fact. However, before one claims superiority in such, well, I belabor the point. Suffice to say, common sense is indeed a misnomer at best and perhaps an attempt to somehow try and portray a possible falsehood in mental prowess. Why that is...oh, that's possibly a 10 book series on its own. Cheers!
For those interested in learning more: Search on Leland Sherman Gosnell and/or PT-107. My dad recounted some of the experiences on the 107 which can be found on a few websites dedicated to such topics. There are pictures of the 107 as well. My grandfather is in at least one. Kneeling on the bow - he's the balding guy. I see the pattern on me!
Shrimp I really appreciate and respect your takes on common sense and the egoistic sense of invulnerability people can have when witnessing others failures. They were very well formed arguments and I find myself agreeing with you. Thanks for the great content!
If anybody asks me why people fall for scams, or tells me they'd never fall for one I tell them to read Robert Cialdini's masterpiece Persuasion. That book is a real eye opener.
On the list it goes.
i really appreciate your response to Jim Browning's experiences.
it' is a very generous and compassionate one, and serves to help us be more generous and compassionate.
The scammer head is turning fast.
Never have I heard a sentence that more aptly summed up this series than:
"Actually, the church of FedEx is a BMW dealership."
Have you tried changing the cost of the scam? Ie you'd be willing to pay £700 instead of £600, then £800, and just change the total every time they respond?
Long time ago, you (and other scambaiters) inspired me to start doing the same. And I still find so much joy (and inspiration!) in your videos. Thank you for all that!
"What's your method of pay maam? Nevermind I don't care, we're doing bitcoin"
The ONLY option is Bitcoin....
aNd gIfT cArDs
@@AtomicShrimp Sir, I do not understand how to send bits of coins. I'm just gonna send $1000 via mail to Bit Coin, OK?
@@AtomicShrimp And that means I accept four payment methods.
I laughed so hard at the nonsense sob story from the generator. It sounds just plausible enough to make a scammer think they're dealing with person with dementia, or perhaps a senile politician. The world needs more people defeating evil with nonsense. Thank you for doing it!
Its incredible how much this AI can say without making any points
Another great video. I appreciate your professionalism and the context you provide when doing your videos, from unique food reviews to scam-baiting, it's given me a broader perspective on not only scams, but unique foods (lol)
Those videos are dangerous... i felt pity for a scamer towards end of it. Something i definitely should not feel for such person.
I love when all the scambaiting community opens up and talks about when one of them fails and use that as raising awareness! Good Job!
I received an email from my bank the other day asking me to update a certain document. They gave me the option to email it to them as an attachment but, thinking of your videos, I went to my branch and asked if they had sent such an email. They did. It was all legit. But better safe than sorry!
Anytime I get calls or emails my mind goes to "ITS A SCAM!" Lol
Your take on “common sense” was spot on
Wow i was binging your scam baiting videos just now, didn’t know you’d come out with another one now 😂😂😂
I'm glad you referenced the recent Jim browning slip. Shows given the right circumstances we can all be duped
I dont like the term "common sense". To me "critical thinking" is a much better description of what people should be doing more often.
Critical thinking is a skill, one often learned but rarely taught. It's something that should be common sense, yet is not.
Ok my mind just blew from your comment...
Same. Common just means what is the normative rule for a society or certain groups. Now we know using Mercury or other chemicals and substances is dangerous and to some extent "common sense", but the victorians didn't. We are a product of our time. Who knows what would be considered common sense in the future
Yes. Common sense implies some common knowledge held by every person, as if everyone can simply know better without being taught. Critical thinking is a process - you analyze something you see in front of you, maybe do a little research, and figure out if its legit or not.
Your Q and A section was great. You made a lo of sense when it comes to what we think about people that do fall for scams.
I’ve read the description, this one looks like a real fun one! Exited to see what it is!
How was it?
@@Normandy-e8i This latest Atomic Shrimp video is great too. Check it out below, check out a video about what you've got at the supermarket.
So in these two hours of video, you might see a whole lot of little things about this shrimp, and it's easy to understand why: this is amazing and unique.
It was pretty good, I miss when they were more simple, Like Just say OK, but it was really funny here too.
@@CreepyboomGamer Simple is sometimes good of course. But if you are a student who wants to learn how to drive safely and effectively, then I'd suggest taking it.
Your foraging videos and tinned food reviews are so engaging I completely forgot you did scambaiting as well until this popped up in my subscriptions!
Your channel is like a seven-course meal! Keep up the good work!
I guess the AI generated chat isn't everyone's cup of tea but I found it strangely compelling and funny. It really felt like two human scammers having a back and forth. I also loved the sidebar on common sense, it's easy to forget that not everyone is us.
I just love your semi obscure references and the way your mind works overall. I just discovered you about a week ago and can’t get enough. Keep up the good work!
Looks like AI dungeon is back to mash together a confusing string of paragraphs. I'm kinda surprised it works so well against these scammers.
Their main targets are elderly with dementia...AI is a close fit
I would like to thank you for doing what you do. I got a phishing email a few days ago, saying something about a bad address on a parcel, and since I did order something from abroad that day and my address contains some special characters that sometimes give foreign computer systems trouble, I very nearly fell for it. I believe the main reason I realised what's up was the work of this and similar channels, exposing scams and showing that we all have to remain vigilant.
Liam Johnson, the most Brazilian name
Thanks to these videos I was able to stop someone from falling deeper into a advance payment scam at work the other day.
i can just imagine you reading that first email in your "SHOUTY CAPS" voice
I AM REVEREND FATHER MR. BARRISTER PAY WITH STEAM CARDS!!!!
I love your definition of common sense. It makes perfect sense.
We need a "shouty caps" shirt asap
The DeepAI stuff is amazing. It's so close to English that it's plausible to anyone who doesn't speak fluently but complete nonsense to a fluent speaker.