@alex option 1: you answer the question. they build a rapport. you gradually get used to running the code they hand you. One day that code encrypts your personal documents. You pay ransom to get those back.
option 2: this student has figured out that sending out 10 million of these emails and sifting through the replies is easier than learning to code. He's wondering if he can actually get a job and get paid while still doing all of his work with mass mailers.
option 3: this is an interview disguised as a request for help. The owner of the company realized that all the best programmers he knew used to sit on IRC all day and answer dumb questions, sometimes patiently. He's trying to find these same kind of programmers in a post-IRC world.