In the delicate dance of deception, the swindler and the swindled move to the beat of a bitter melody. The swindler, with his charming smile and golden promises, weaves a web of illusions, while the swindled, blinded by the glitter of hope (gold), falls into the trap. But in this game of shadows, the balance hangs in the balance; for every lie uncovered weighs on the conscience of the trickster, and every truth revealed strengthens the deceived. In the end, the trickster may win the battle, but he faces eternal war against his own reflection, and the conned, though wounded, may find strength in the scar of betrayal. **It's simply a never-ending tale, don't you think?**

The problem is depending on the network, you still might not listen.  Just look at the number of cat fishing schemes where the family members have told the person they are being scammed, but they are so in love that they can't even admit it to themselves.  Even though in the back of their minds they know it is true.  It's pretty sad.

We know someone who last year around January to about may had been a victim of these scams. They gave the scammer about 15 bitcoin I think at the end of the day which is insane considering where the market is today. It’s sad to hear but also goes to the isolationist aspect of it. They didn’t talk to anyone about it until they lost all their money and even then they were in denial - the power of hope and lack of understanding of common sense, or the willful blindness when infatuation is involved. Quite sad! 

Skepticism is the right move when dealing with most things now a days. I really hate that it has come to this and we can't trust our follow humans. 

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/mattclarke/Ep7waJBbx9w87wQVv2M5anmyTmwHFqqqhpXp5wERaQAF6FHgTNdz7QsvYW11q55SbbG.png)

Scammers are just greedy who always looks to get money of others :(

If it's too good to be true, it probably is. This is a statement that a lot of people know and use when dealing with scams. It works most of the time, but there are some that want to feel like they're special/lucky and found/approached by a good deal. I think these are the ones that are scammed more easily. 

Another saying that I like to keep in mind is: You can't win a lottery if you didn't buy a ticket. So anything that tells me I won something when I don't remember joining anything, makes me think that it is a scam outright. And for those thinking that one can find a winning ticket along the road, that is the scammed mentality I want to avoid.

>I didn't have a picture of a pig available

Best caption award! 

***
>While we keep telling ourselves and whoever will listen how happy we are

Who says they are happy? I don't know anyone who openly says this. You mean our illusion of the general mood of the country we live in? Any population on the brink of being terrified, like nearly all of us were a few short years ago, is far from happy, and knows it. 

>We have diluted the very thing that has made us strong to the point our skill is now a risk, a weak link in our abilities, an attack vector. 

Yes! Resist the next scam call to isolate ourselves even further, to protect us from each other. That's the most effective weapon of all.  Go out into the streets and dance when next we are told to be afraid - be very afraid - of each other. It's an extremely effective illusion, the frontline is, and always has been, in our minds. 

In the series *Hustle*, the team specializing in the long con operates with the idea that *you can’t cheat an honest man*.

The sad thing is that the rate of scammers will always increase everyday. We just need to make sure that we do not fall into their hands
That’s the best thing 

People get scammed mostly because they fail to understand the structure of what they are into. However, enlightening and creating awareness helps people not fall victim to scammers. 

This was sth to reflect on! Thank you @tarazkp