This is just like a newer version of the Nigerian prince emails, nothing more, nothing less. I just don't get it, it's like if someone on the street asks you to give him $50 telling you he's going to be right back with $100, he just needs to get into his car to get you the money. Would people fall for something like that? At this point I would say yes.
It is a little bit more elaborated than that because scammers invest more time and effort in order to fool the victim, compared to nigerian prince email scam. Some scammes play very long game and are willing to chat with victim for months before they go on the actual scam.
It does sound stupid to us that know about that scamming technique and generally have experience, but many people are gullibl and not aware of all the dangers on the Internet.