Scambaiting is pretending to scammers to be just about to take their bait, then pulling back and leading them on for as long as you can until you are bored of toying with them or they figure out they’ve been had. Think of a mother duck leading the fox away from her nest by pretending to be injured and looking like an easy mark, while remaining just out of reach. Instapundit recently drew my attention to this lovely example of the sport — here is a sample.
12:29 PM Scammer: i need your help?
me: What do you need?
12:30 PM Scammer: $1,000 is all we need
me: In which currency?
12:32 PM Scammer: 600 pounds is all we need
me: Oh, dear….
How soon do you need it?
12:33 PM Scammer: we need it now
the next available fluight leaves in 2hrs time and we got to be at the airport in 1hr time
12:34 PM me: But I don’t see how I could get money to you that quickly
Scammer: you can have it wired to me vis Wetsern Union
do you know any WU outlet nearby?
me: Hold on, I’ll check….
12:35 PM Scammer: ok
12:36 PM me: Why, yes! There is one right near Fahrfivgnugen, MA, on Swindler Street! That’s only 5 minutes from here!