A Canadian man has been arrested for advanced fee fraud following a sting operation instigated by a Connecticut woman fed up with receiving scam emails.

Like many other people, Heidi Evans was constantly barraged with dubious emails purporting to offer millions in exchange for helping to transfer vast funds from Africa.

Instead of deleting these emails, she strung the fraudsters along.

“Over several months, I managed to convince them I was gullible enough to go along with them, and surprise of surprises, they were stupid enough to send a messenger to see me to collect the money,” Evans told The News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut.

When Nicholas Horvath-Howard, 24, of Toronto came around to collect $200,000 from a potential mark he was met instead by US Secret Service agents and members of the local police.

Horvath-Howard was subsequently charged with first-degree attempted larceny at an arraignment in Danbury Superior Court on Monday. Bond was set at $250,000 and the case adjourned until 10 November.

The Financial Crimes Division of the US Secret Service reports that it receives approximately 100 calls and 300 and 500 messages daily from victims or potential victims of 419 fraud. ®