diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index fdf36ef..19dd53f 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from distutils.core import setup, Extension
 from glob import glob
 
-prefix = '/Users/ed'
+prefix = '/Users/vb'
 boost = '/opt/local'
 
 module_pEp = Extension('pEp',
diff --git a/src/message_api.cc b/src/message_api.cc
index be64135..728ca71 100644
--- a/src/message_api.cc
+++ b/src/message_api.cc
@@ -50,6 +50,11 @@ namespace pEp {
             int rating = (int) _rating;
             int flags = (int) _flags;
 
+            if (!_dst)
+                _dst = ::message_dup(_src);
+            if (!_dst)
+                throw bad_alloc();
+
             Message dst(_dst);
             return boost::python::make_tuple(dst, keylist, rating, flags);
         }