Really ? I think the charges for the lawyer would be more than his potential loss.
It's true, but he can not let the scammer go unpunished, everyone knows that the prices of lawyers are expensive and many times the process is much more expensive, but the person knows that the pleasure of seeing the scammers in jail has no price because you is contributing to take another thief out of the streets that is infecting our society. Of course if OP does not have more money and time then better give up and take care of he's life
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In case of a straight up scams, that are criminal offences, it should be enough to report it to police.
If you want to start a civil lawsuit against fraudster then: a) you don't necessarily have to hire a lawyer, you should be able to manage it yourself, if the case is simple and straight-forward (or you could only take an initial consultation); b) any legal costs can be claimed from the defendant, so if you win, you should get all the costs back.