INTERNET sensation James Veitch is taking his new show Dot Con on the road.

Like his TED Talk, Dot Con sees the playful comedian discuss the gleeful scenarios in which he responds to suspicious email scammers, playing them at their own game.

Ahead of his Railway Inn Winchester date on Thursday, we got the lowdown on the comic.

How did you get into comedy?

I’ve always wanted be a comedian. I was going through a phase of doing things I was frightened of and stand-up was one of them. I began in New York which, arguably, made things both easier and harder. Easier because I could get away with assuming an exaggerated version of my English self for laughs and harder because the “scene” in New York is full of “bringer” gigs. These are when, to earn the privilege of doing five minutes of material, you have to bring two or three friends who must each purchase a two drink minimum (paid for in advance) and, worse, gigs where you must sell your own tickets outside on the street in advance. When I came back to London, I sort of had to start again because I didn’t know the clubs or the people. Also I suspect I wasn’t loved enough as a child.

What can audiences expect from your Dot Con show?

We’ll find out what happens when, instead of deleting those scam emails, you hit reply. Together we’ll invest in gold, diamonds and hummus and take a terrifying but rewarding leap down the rabbit hole of spam.

Where did the idea for your show come from?

I had an idea that we’ve all wondered what would happen if you replied, right? And I also find it interesting how young and how mystifying the internet is. People always say “I don’t understand how you find the time to reply to these scammers,” but I dash off emails all the time and out of that grew the show.

You published a book last year of the same name as your tour, Dot Con, so are the two related?

Very much so. The book is, for the most part, a transcript of the exchanges I have with scammers; while the show gives me time to address why they’re sent, how they came about and, importantly, how I got my own back on one particular scammer.

So you reply to scammers in a comedic way! Have any of your correspondences ever gone too far?

This all depends how you define, “too far.” I mean, I never actually made it to Moscow to meet my darling Elena and her cat Homka and I never ended up investing in that Snail Farm that Ormaeze Maxwell was headset on me spearheading. But I’ve thought about it.

See railwayinn.pub