One factor could also be the scammer getting bad conscience when realizing they weren't just skimming off a corp but screwing over a small-timer. Maybe they wer

One factor could also be the scammer getting bad conscience when realizing they weren't just skimming off a corp but screwing over a small-timer. Maybe they were drunk or high at the time of the call. Seems like there was more than one independently scheming entity in some way, and at least one scheme didn't pan out as planned. The Big Lebowski reference doesn't seem too far-fetched...