I think we should treat people who get scammed and come out and talk about it like heroes. And this is important: no matter how "obvious" the scam might seem in retrospect or from the outside of the community it prey'd on.
The more I look at scams the more I think this is major factor in how they keep going and keep coming back.
The problem: American society gives scammers not just a free pass but status and admiration instead of isolation and shame.
In the world of power and business, scamming people is elevated to high art, everything from endless TOS no on can read to bait and switch ad campaigns to free offers that roll into locked-in subscriptions to insurance companies denying the plain service they sold you to … the list is endless. And the men (mostly) who do this are lauded, followed, even made president. And then on the other end of the scale all kinds of dodgy hustles are accepted in communities that don’t see what other choice they have.
As with most social ills, shaming the perpetrators - especially the wealthiest, most prominent, most ‘white-collar” - and throwing the book at them in proportion to their wealth will work better.
So yes, making them the slimiest of slimy low-lifes requires de-stigmatizing victims so they can speak openly.
I think you mean scam artists only get punished if they aren’t wealthy…
myrmepropagandist
David Mitchell 
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