All good points being made here.

My 2 cents.
When greed or desperation are high with an individual or group, that's when scams "get" people. Greed traps people because they want to get rich quick or easily. Desperation traps people because they are emotionally susceptible to anything that gives them hope to solve their problems of desperation. So, with either of these two factors people are most vulnerable. Scammers do research and commit time and energy for ROI. They employ skills that otherwise could be used to make contributions to society but instead cause terrible hardships for people. Empathy is dead for the person who intentionally and knowingly harms others. It's all an emotional play. It's not victimless. Sad really.