Besides, I dont agree that we should avoid recommending Bitcointalk altogether.
I didn't say not to recommend bitcointalk entirely, but for us to be cautious about who we refer it to.
Have you ever seen a person with a tattooed inscription/tag on the forehead that says - I'm a scammer, be guided? How's anyone supposed to know?
There is no forehead inscription, but some characters and attributes they may show or display will give them away, and because they may be your friends, you may choose to ignore these red flags.