Back when I was a 21-year-old college student / waiter, I was scammed out of some cash by a dickhead who gave me the whole "I need $20 to buy a belt on my car" routine. Not familiar with that scam? It involves pantyhose. I'll tell you more about it in a few weeks.
Anyway, I know what it's like to be scammed. I also know what it's like to be a scammer. Out of college, I landed a job as the "staff writer" for a local multi-level marketing company (ever heard of AM300?), and had to write cheesy articles about magical diet pills and how the power of a residual income can "change your life" if you enroll in the auto ship, purchase $100 in products a month, and alienate all your friends by trying to get them to sell vitamins. Legally speaking it wasn't a scam, but it sure felt like one.