I have written earlier about this topic and my own experience with it https://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=1565&do=blog&id=1446301 Apparently, the sophistication of this type of scam knows no end. Scammer can learn and adapt once you respond (since I while cautious still treat all un-solicited message as legitimate until proven otherwise) . Now the messages I receive still carry Chinese female names but asks me to respond on a couple of social media platforms (which I do not use) and asks specific questions about my work which I did several decades ago or only questions that persons closely collaborating on daily or weekly basis should and can ask. In the end, researching or answering such question invariably turns out to be a big waste of my time even though I have so far not fallen for such scams. But I know a friend who shall remain un-named and who have lost over twenty thousand US$ just through such scams. Statistically speaking, it is also impossible that I only get such messages from writer with Chinese female names and not from other scholars who read my work and blogs from 70 counties all over the world.
Thus, I am forced to adopt the following policy: From now on I’ll only answer such letters if you can get some other scholars in my field known to me to introduce you as writer with legitimate purpose and standing. Yes, such practice may penalized legitimate female writers with extra burden (so far I have NOT encountered any such legitimate cases). But unusual request demands unusual treatment if for nothing else but my own sanity. Sure, for scammer this is their full time job. But at my advance age, I do not have spare time to waste just because I want to be helpful.
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