Flip side of posting fake jobs to get resumes.
Plus, if the charade goes a few more emails, more details about the job.
Recruiters also pose as companies posting 'jobs', and from what I've seen when looking for gigs it's likely they solicit in the other direction as well. How low they sink, who knows.
Alternatively, the recruiter might want more details from the hiring manager about the open position, so they could hunt for applicants to bring back to the hiring manager.
Or they bait and switch, saying that person is no longer available and give a second resume, knowing they have full attention of whoever is hiring. Or they would find out their phone numbers and harass them with endless calls.
This process makes it abundantly clear that we're not interested, and also has the pleasant side effect of screening out people who aren't interested enough to read the man page for curl.