#39: Scamming the scammers

Micro-listenings | C1

…I lead on scammers…

If you lead someone on, you trick them into believing something isn’t true. In this context, the man is making the scammers believe that their scam is working. In the process, they waste their time and increase the risk of getting caught.

e.g. She doesn’t love you – she’s just leading you on.

…I’ve been able to unravel a whole lot of scams…

If you unravel a knot or a piece of knitted fabric, you separate it into a single thread or threads. Someone can do this themselves (they unravel something) or it can happen by itself (it unravels).

e.g. My jumper is starting to unravel at the sleeves – I need to get it fixed.

We use this word metaphorically to say that something (often a plan) is going wrong or falling apart.

e.g. When the main investor pulled out, everything started to unravel quickly.