ICS0018 Hands-on seminars
The idea
The hands-on seminars are a pair task (initially based on Kristjan Karmo's ScamLab materials). The goal is to learn about different scams in a safe(ish) but real environment. A little side quest is to waste scammers' time so that they can't use it on actual victims. A successful presentation will result in passing the course if the attendance criteria (5 out of 8 lectures and seminars) is met. To register a presentation, please pair up and register below, in your chosen time slot. There are limited presentation slots - first come, first served! (note: as people sign up, we will probably have to cram as many presentations as possible into each seminar - but the space is not infinite, we will have more or less 90 minutes for each).
The Task
Step 1: Create a fake identity and honeypot email account for engaging with scammers. Other platforms are also welcome, as long as you are able to protect your identity.
Step 2: Distribute the email address on shady or spammy sites, such as social media, online forums, etc. Some tips can be found here https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-get-scam-emails
Step 3: Wait for the scams to start rolling in.
Step 4: Engage! First select if you're going to use a naïve or aggressive approach.
If you don't manage to get any scammers to directly email your newly created address, go look in your regular mailbox, in the spam folder, ask friends & family, etc. NB! Before replying to any of those "crowdsourced" scam emails from your fake account, be sure to delete the address it was originally sent to.
Some tips for safety:
- Never reveal your (or anyone else's) real personal information to the scammers. Make up something realistic.
- Never open any links in emails unless you're in a protected sandbox environment.
- NEVER give out any real financial information, account information, or passwords.
- Always use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Even on your fake accounts.
Here's the grand prize: if you manage to engage with at least 3 scammers for an email chain of 5 messages or more (they respond to at least 2 of your letters in the same thread), and present your findings at one of the seminars, you pass the course. It's not as easy as it might first seem.
An alternative way to pass is to educate people in your social network, friends, family, coworkers, etc about scams, how to spot them, how to avoid them, what to do if you're already a victim. If you want to use this option, please contact Kaido (over e-mail or MS Teams) and suggest how would you do it.
The Seminars
The hands-on seminars will have the following schedule:
- Thursday, March 6 at noon (12:00)
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- Thursday, March 13 at noon (12:00)
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- Thursday, March 20 at noon (12:00)
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- Thursday, March 27 at noon (12:00)
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Note: as we will likely have more people on board than there will be free timeslots, we will have to add an extra seminar or two to accommodate everyone. These will be agreed upon as we go.
