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Jim Browning (YouTuber)

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For people of the same name, see Jim Browning.

Jim Browning
Personal information
Occupations
  • Scam baiter
  • Software engineer
YouTube information
ChannelsJim Browning
Years active2014–present
GenreScam baiting
Subscribers4.33 million
Total views300.07 million
100,000 subscribers2018
1,000,000 subscribers2020
Last updated: 15 September 2024

Jim Browning is the Internet alias of a software engineer and YouTuber from Northern Ireland[1] whose content focuses on scam baiting and investigating call centres engaging in fraudulent activities.

Scambaiting

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A software engineer,[2] Browning began researching scam operations after his relative lost money to a technical support scam.[3] He started his YouTube channel to upload footage to send to authorities as evidence against scammers.[4]

He has since carried out investigations into various scams, in which he infiltrates computer networks run by scammers who claim to be technical support experts[1] or pose as US IRS agents and use remote desktop software or social engineering.[5][6][7][8][9] Such scams have involved unsolicited calls offering computer services, or websites posing to be reputable companies such as Dell or Microsoft.[1][3]

BBC Panorama investigation

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Browning was featured in a March 2020 episode of British documentary series Panorama, in which a large-scale technical support scamming operation was infiltrated and extensively documented by Browning and fellow YouTuber Karl Rock. The duo recorded drone and CCTV footage of the facility in Gurugram, Haryana, India and gathered incriminating evidence linking alleged scammer Amit Chauhan, who also operated a fraudulent travel agency called "Faremart Travels", to a series of scams targeting computer-illiterate and elderly people in the United Kingdom and United States.[10][11][12] During a private meeting with his associates, Chauhan was quoted as stating, "We don't give a shit about our customers". Some of his call centre agents were recorded scamming and laughing at a British man who admitted to being depressed.[13] They were also recorded conning a blind woman with diabetes.[14] Although Chauhan denied the allegations in a phone interview with the BBC, he was arrested along with his accountant Sumit Kumar in a raid.[15][16]

Money-mule catching

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In March 2021, Browning and fellow YouTuber Mark Rober collaborated to construct and distribute automated glitter bombs to identify and report money mules who were receiving their money via shipping services, such as FedEx, before sending it to the scammers.[17][18][19]

New York Times interview

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Browning was covered in a 2021 New York Times article documenting their confrontation of a small-scale refund scam operation based in Kolkata, India. The journalist, Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, a native of Kolkata who moved to the United States, described a December 2019 scam-baiting operation by Browning, during which Browning intercepted a refund scam involving an elderly woman. Suspicious, the woman told the scammer that she would cease contact with him, only for the scammer to lock her computer.[20] Browning was able to contact the woman and help her unlock the computer. Bhattacharjee later flew to India to check out call centers that Browning had identified as possible scammers and to confront the individual who had perpetrated the refund scam on the elderly woman.[3]

AARP report

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The April 2021 issue of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Bulletin contains an 11-page article by the director of AARP's Washington state office, centering on Browning's work fighting cyber scams.[1]

Temporary channel deletion

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On 26 July 2021, Browning was targeted by scammers who pretended to be YouTube support staff and misled him into deleting his own channel.[21][22] His channel was reinstated four days later.[23] He explained in a video that the scammer used Google Chat to send an authenticated phishing email from the "google.com" domain and convinced Browning to delete his channel under the pretense of moving it to a new YouTube brand account.[24]

Scam Interceptors

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Main article: Scam Interceptors

In 2022, BBC commissioned for a television series for BBC One, Scam Interceptors, presented by Rav Wilding. In the series, Browning and a team of ethical hackers attempt to intercept criminals and prevent fraudulent activity.[25] The first series premiered on 4 April 2022,[26] and the second on 1 May 2023.[27]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref.
2022 12th Streamy Awards Collaboration[a] Won [28]

Notes

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  1. ^ With Mark Rober and Trilogy Media.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Doug Shadel (April 2021). "Inside an International Tech-Support Scam". AARP Bulletin. AARP.
  2. ^ Flippin, Alex (20 July 2021). "FF12 dissects scam after Wichitan falls victim". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (27 January 2021). "Who's Making All Those Scam Calls?". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  4. ^ Tait, Amelia (3 October 2021). "Who scams the scammers? Meet the scambaiters". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. ^ Gelinas, James (20 June 2019). "How some consumers are fighting back against robocalls". Komando.com. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  6. ^ Cellan-Jones, Rory (25 October 2019). "Tech Tent: Shutting down the software scammers". BBC News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Tech support scammers hacked back by vigilante". Naked Security. 4 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Robocall revenge: Meet the techies turning the tables on scammers". CBS News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  9. ^ Carlos Christian (8 March 2020). "Confessions of a call-centre scammer". The Union Journal. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  10. ^ Mooney, John (8 March 2020). "Northern Irish hacker exposes call centre scam in India". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 8 March 2020.(registration required)
  11. ^ "VIDEO: Briti häkker avaldas salvestised petukõnekeskuses toimuvast". Postimees (in Estonian). 3 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  12. ^ McCarter, Reid (4 March 2020). "Hacker breaks into scammers' CCTV cameras and computer records". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Panorama - Spying on the Scammers". BBC News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Spying on the Scammers: Part 3". YouTube.
  15. ^ "Scam call centre owner in custody after the exposé". BBC News. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. ^ Dhankhar, Leena (4 March 2020). "Udyog Vihar call centre duped at least 40,000 in 12 countries; 2 arrested". Hindustan Times. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  17. ^ Rober, Mark. "Glitterbomb Trap Catches Phone Scammer (who gets arrested)". YouTube. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  18. ^ Browning, Jim. "Catching Money Mules featuring Mark Rober". YouTube. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  19. ^ Webster, Sophie (24 April 2021). "YouTube Star Mark Rober's NASA Career and His Incredible Investions". Tech Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  20. ^ Spadafora, Anthony (10 February 2020). "Lock My PC fights tech support scammers with free recovery keys". TechRadar. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  21. ^ Leebody, Christopher (28 July 2021). "Northern Ireland YouTuber who exposes scams falls victim to ploy himself". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  22. ^ Halfacree, Gareth (27 July 2021). "Scam-baiting YouTube channel Tech Support Scams taken offline by tech support scam". The Register. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  23. ^ Jim Browning [@JimBrowning11] (30 July 2021). "Yes.... I'm back. Slightly different channel URL: https://youtube.com/channel/UCBNG0osIBAprVcZZ3ic84vw I'm trying to get the http://youtube.com/JimBrowning link updated, but this might take a little longer. Expect a video on the whole debacle later today" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Jim Browning (30 July 2021). My channel was deleted... HOW? (YouTube Video). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  25. ^ Darvill, Josh (7 March 2022). "Rav Wilding and Jim Browning to hunt cyber criminals in new BBC One show". TellyMix. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  26. ^ TV, Mem (3 April 2022). "Scam Interceptors: Series Premiere (S1EP1 BBC One Mon 4 April 2022)". Memorable TV - Episodes, News & More. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  27. ^ "TV BAFTA-nominated series Scam Interceptors returns to hack the hackers and expose unscrupulous scammers" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. 25 April 2023.
  28. ^ "12TH ANNUAL WINNERS". Streamy Awards. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
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