Yes. See "Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria?"
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-...
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-...
> By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor.
I mean the people who take the time to troll the scammer back want enjoyment out of it, and the chance of getting that enjoyment would seem to be heightened if the scammer seems more likely to be an idiot.
I did get an IRS scam VOIP number shutdown last week in about 15 minutes.