Doc Zone - Dot Con (2014)

Dot Con

The digital era is good for most people. But it is beyond good for con artists. The internet’s famous ability to connect everyone, everywhere, makes it ideal for scammers: they can find victims in a dozen countries, transfer the money they steal through a dozen further countries, and most importantly, remain completely anonymous while they’re doing it. Dot.Con goes inside the writhing underworld of online scams. We see just how prolific and inventive the cybercriminals are. Interpol says it is a trillion dollar a year crime. We witness the three-way dance of crooks, cops and victims. We talk to researchers and authorities who are only now gaining an understanding of the psychology at work in the most effective scams. We’ll see how we can fight back, in recommended and definitely not recommended ways. Dot.Con goes to England, where online vigilantes have turned the tables on scammers…Using exactly the same techniques the con artists do, they fight back at their would-be tormenters with a gusto that is both hilarious and deadly serious. Police love what they do - but stop short of recommending we try and copy them. And we see what victims of internet scams around Canada and the world can do to protect themselves from any further abuse, and to bring the scammers to justice.

CBC Site

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