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Suppose that one phones you and states that they have a Nigerian princes inheritance which they would like to arrange to send to you.

Or that they would like to donate some money to your organisation or work.

In either case the true purpose is to create a candid camera video for the purpose of mocking and deriding you.

You travel across town and spend your time meeting them to discuss the particulars before finding out that the entire thing was a ruse.

Because the proposal was of a gift then there may be said that there was no “consideration,” but how does this factor with the fact that you are in fact measurably worse off (as for a tube fare and an afternoon of your time) for the antic being a ruse?

Does this aspect of it render the act more of a civil wrong or even a crime?

TylerDurden
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Depending on who said what, it may be attempted fraud. This would not exactly punish the wasted time, it would punish the attempt to do something more serious. Just how a legal system deals with unsuccessful attempts of a crime can be interesting in theory and practice -- can anyone prove that the Nigerian prince planned to follow up with a fraud, or could he claim that he was just boasting to inflate his ego?

§263 StGB

(1) A person who [...] misleads another person by making false claims [...] for the own [...] financial advantage [...] shall be punished [...]
(2) The attempt is punishable.
(My translation, reordering parts of the first section to create readable English.)

o.m.
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