In April of this year, a hacker under the Nanobaiter pseudonym breached a center of telephone scammers, stealing their source code and notifying all victims of the fraud. The hacker’s victim was WAREDOT, known for its “antiviral fraud” practices.
Recently, hacker attacks on fraudulent centers have been increasing. Lynchik, popular on YouTube as “Scambaiter”, openly mocks such centers by hacking their infrastructure and attracting millions of spectators. The Nanobaiter hacker participated in a similar campaign, exposing WAREDOT.
“Hello, if you received this letter, you have fallen victim to the fake antivirus company WAREDOT,” wrote Nanobaiter. Victims were advised to seek refunds as the software sold by WAREDOT was deemed useless.
Telephone scam centers target the elderly and those not tech-savvy, convincing them of computer viruses and selling ineffective antivirus software.
Such scams are common in the US, with the Federal Trade Commission conducting operations against these scammers. WAREDOT claims to provide safe digital living but was exposed by Nanobaiter as fraudulent.
“The antivirus source code is primitive and not worth the price tag of $400,” stated the hacker. Videos posted by Nanobaiter show surveillance camera breaches at WAREDOT and a police raid on the company.
About a month later, the hacker contacted 404 Media with evidence of the WAREDOT hack and decided to publish the source code to expose the company further. Despite a police raid, WAREDOT continued selling products, prompting the hacker to seek media attention.
404 Media’s coverage of the hacker’s breach of the scam call center gave the case more visibility than the blogger could achieve alone.