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Invest in knowledge and wisdom first which is why I agree with your 1st statement " If it's too good to be true, it's not true".Nothing is free in this world and there's nothing such as easy money so always doubt whenever people talk about something like this. Always think about the consequence of your action before you decide what you'll do.
Emotion is the top most priority to be kept in check to avoid getting scammed.
People in dire need are the most susceptible to be scammed as they are the ones who are looking for that "miracle" to happen, and somehow there is this "you're the 100,000th to visit this page".
And people in this situation has their mind to not function as a calm person would do.