A NASA engineer managed to bust an elaborate scam by glitterbombing criminals who believed they'd just scammed a victim.
YouTuber Mark Rober decided to fight back against the scammers - who mostly go after elderly or vulnerable people - in the best way, fighting financial crime with glitter. They then even sometimes got arrested, to make sure they learned their lesson.
When the scammers turned up to get a bag of cash they thought they had just extorted from a victim, they were shocked to end up covered in glitter.
Rober, who has 17.5 million subscribers on YouTube, explained the scam in his video.
Advert
In theory, it is simple, with victims tricking into installing software on their devices that allows remote access - programmes like LogMeIn, TeamViewer and AnyDesk.
They are then made to believed that they have received large amounts of money into their bank account.
In the video, a browser is made to look like an online banking page with simple HTML editing. It then appears that $20,000 has been transferred into the victim's account.
Advert
The scammer then pleads with the victim for the excess money - which hasn't actually been received at all - to be sent to them via a service like FedEx or UPS.
But, the package that contains the money will usually be going to a mule, who will be waiting at an Airbnb address as a delivery point.
Rober points out that it's usually older people who aren't as savvy to scams that fall victim to this. He says that you can help family and friends by letting them watch the video.
Advert
So far, it's had more than 23.4 million views, meaning hopefully some would-be victims to the scam will be more aware of what to look out for if anything similar happens to them.
Fans are full of praise for Rober.
One wrote: "Man, hearing that old lady feel so terrible and almost start crying makes me sick to my stomach.
Advert
"You guys are doing amazing work."
Another replied: "It makes me feel like crying how heartless these scammers are. Leave the elderly alone!"
A third could relate, commenting: "I got scammed in 2019 and gave them $1000. It was the worst feeling in the entire world because I trusted the guy so much."
Advert
Someone else responded: "This video is going to inspire a lot of people to wage war against the scammers. What an excellent video."
Featured Image Credit: YouTube