In conversations about scams, a lot of people blame the victim or say something like, "well just don't be a sucker", or claim to take a very naturalistic view w

In conversations about scams, a lot of people blame the victim or say something like, "well just don't be a sucker", or claim to take a very naturalistic view where we're all dogs just trying to become top dog. I've thought about this, and I think a big part of it is that the people who say that believe themselves to be decent people but ultimately want to leave open the option of acting scummy themselves in the future (because it makes your life easier) or perhaps have acted scummy in the past, or currently, and they want to avoid cognitive dissonance. You can't admit that it's wrong and keep doing it without thinking you're a crappy person. So be very wary of people who show a hesitance to empathize with victims. On another note, our government and society as a whole just doesn't give a damn about victim-assisted fraud. There are cases where billions of dollars have been stollen from pensioners and it is obvious who is responsible (often an open secret) but nothing is ever done. If you want to make money being a terrible person just commit victim-assisted fraud and spread each crime across multiple jurisdictions.