While most of us can sniff out an obvious scam from a mile away, some people - perhaps senior citizens or those with a mental disability - can sometimes be a bit more susceptible. It's unfortunate that people are willing to take advantage of others in such a manner but it's a harsh reality associated with e-mail usage.
If you're like me, you've been tempted to reply to an obvious scam message just to screw with the person on the other end. Now, you can get that satisfaction without having to invest all the time and effort.
Re:scam is an artificial intelligence e-mail chat bot designed to barrage scammers with questions and anecdotes in an attempt to waste their time. The idea is that, the more time they spend replying to bogus inquires, the less time they'll have to try and scam real people.
Re:scam's bot will continue the conversation indefinitely (or until the scammer stops replying).
The bot comes courtesy of Netsafe, a New Zealand-based non-profit online safety organization founded in 1998.
To participate, simply forward a scam e-mail to me@rescam.org and they'll take it from there. The group will even send you a summary of the conversation their bot has with the scammer which can sometimes be quite hilarious.
Then again, what if this is a scam designed to confirm active e-mail addresses? Hrm...