Yes I have had these guys come by fairly often with this pitch. They offer large amounts for old breakers but only really want the wire and offer you less than half of what the price should be. We usually escort these people off site pronto.
strange... all you guys are from states that aren't california.
i've never even heard of this scam, and we do scams here better
than most anywhere.
maybe that is 'cause here, they just steal the wire out of the pipe,
and be done with it. saves all the chatting. in some areas, i've taken
to drilling a pilot hole in the condulet, and filling it up with epoxy to
deter theft. there was a question in my mind about the epoxy damaging
the insulation, but the alternative is losing the wire next week, so if
the insulation lasts five years, they are money ahead.... ;-p