This probably wasted maybe 20 minutes out of their day. I was hoping to see them get counter-scammed, like has happened a few times.

And wasted 3 out of mine. Why is this remotely interesting to The Times?

Why does it have to be remotely interesting to the Times? It's remotely interesting to me and that's what the Times cares about.

Wasting e-mail scammers' time is a hobby for many: http://www.419eater.com/

I don't have as much spare time as some, so I automated it: http://scattered-thoughts.net/one/1274/311469/319933

Way to go. Google should make something like this available as a Gmail lab add-on.

And then scammers will ask you to solve a CAPTCHA before they engage in further discussion. :)

Thats fine. Their victims generally aren't tech savvy so the more hoops the scammers require them to jump through the more will get confused and give up. Even asking potential victims to reply to a different address than the originator of the email will affect the conversion rates.

The scammer getting a tattoo is the best, in my opinion: http://www.419eater.com/html/okorie.htm I remember laughing out loud when I read it a few years ago - it's pretty long though!

The "This American Life" segment about a particular 419 baiting feat is incredibly amusing and a little sad: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/363/e...

David Pogue joining the ranks of http://www.419eater.com/ ? Love it!

and to think, if the scammer had just bothered to write a poem he may have gotten the $2000