Give scammers a taste of their own scam

The other day, I received an e-mail from a stranger named Wanda.

"Your uncle the Nigerian prince has died and left you a sizeable inheritance," she wrote.

The following day, also via e-mail, I discovered that a Russian woman I've never met wants to marry me.

Now, I've often wondered where my love of African music comes from (I'm Australian). I also find that generally, women who haven't met me find me more attractive than those who have.

In this case however, it turns out these e-mails were both - surprisingly - scams designed to fleece me. And unfortunately, a tragic number of ordinary (often vulnerable) people here in China and elsewhere do fall for cons such as this, losing their hard-earned savings to shysters.

I was ruminating about Wanda's brazen assault on the good name of Nigerian royalty when I received the following e-mail from Dr Ruth.

"I know that you might be surprise on this mail (sic), but I am telling you the truth," Dr Ruth wrote. "What I want to tell you is about your inheritance and lottery payments in Nigeria ... There are a lot of forces working against you. I am taking a risk but there is a way I can assist you to get your fund."

That's when I had an idea. What if I scammed the scammer and gave them less time to rob innocent victims?

So, channeling my inner idiot (not hard to do), I wrote back.

"Hello Dr Ruth, It sounds like you're taking a terrible risk contacting me. What sorts of forces are working against me? Assassins? Ninjas? Ninja assassins?

"I think I could handle a ninja, as I did karate for a few months when I was 8 years old, and I was quite good at it. I've also watched that very informative documentary, The Karate Kid, several times. I'm new to the Internet. Your e-mail (yes, it was a surprise) suggests I have both inherited money and won the lottery in Nigeria. Amazing! Ruth, (I hope you don't mind me calling you Ruth) I'm just wondering if you might be able to help me set up a bank account? And maybe I could give you a few thousand dollars to help cover the paperwork and procedures? There's just one small thing. I might need to borrow $50 for the fee to transfer you the rest of the money. And I will of course need your bank details. PS what kind of doctor are you? I have this strange rash ... "

So far, Ruth hasn't replied. But I hope that next time someone replies positively to one of Ruth's scams, our villain remembers me and feels that tiny seed of doubt, the equivalent of that fleeting moment when we the victim wonder if we do in fact have shares in an oil field worth billions that we've forgotten all about.

So, be wary. And if you've got time, why not scam a scammer? You won't get money out of it, but you may get a laugh.

Contact the writer at josephcatanzaro@chinadaily.com.cn