I've seen slightly milder forms of such scams in the US, a lot milder forms in some European countries outside of Germany, and basically none in Germany. I thi

I've seen slightly milder forms of such scams in the US, a lot milder forms in some European countries outside of Germany, and basically none in Germany. I think it's a combination of the public not expecting/tolerating it (i.e. any company involved in it would suffer a severe hit to its reputation) and strong consumer protection laws that could make it very expensive for the companies involved, but not having to constantly be on one's guard and assume that anything you see is a scam is nice. Less friction is better for society, and having to figure out whether what you see is what it seems to be or a scam trying to mislead you is friction.