Get rich quick or bust

For the past year and a half, I have been giving a sympathetic ear to some people who fell victim to get rich quick schemes. As usual, apart from me asking them "why so stupid," I make an effort to try and understand why they do it in the first place.

Generally I sense vulnerableness in two types of people. The first type is the desperate man. Someone with lots of debts and is unable to raise money to pay them off, either because they are too old to work or have no marketable skills.

Of course I'll ask why did they get mired in so much debt in the first place? The answer is common and rather understandable. They made a foolish choice. Who hasn't? They regret it now but the damage is already done. They are not greedy. Just desperate to get the creditors off their backs. They'll try anything.

The second type is the opportunist. Someone who eats and sleeps well but thinks that if he can make a buck out of nothing, why not? He'll tell you that refusing such a golden opportunity only shows how stupid you are. I think greed is an accurate word for this category.

Okay, so they all converge to wherever it is they go to listen to their 'motivation' talks or cut a deal with some shady people. They dish over the money and the rest is history. Within days they see all their life savings go up in smoke.

Well maybe that's cold, hard business. There are winners and there are losers but what I could never understand is how these schemes are so good at creating addicts. Apparently many of those scammed are not first time victims. They're veterans. They hop from scam to scam, lose everything but the shirts on their backs and yet still talk about the elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Their belief is almost religious.

I even hear that some of the believers are educated people. Lecturers, lawyers, doctors.

Why?

I can accept that greedy and desperate people might try anything but if there's one thing they won't do, it would be to go back to the same old pond to fish after failing to catch anything there the last 10 times (or so I thought.) People can be stupid but not that stupid, can they? No, something is going on that's making otherwise professional, rational people turn off all rational thought like a light switch. I can just imagine this conversation:

"You've tried it 3 times and failed. What makes you think it'll work the 4th time?"

"Oh, this time it's different."

"But how do you know?"

"I just know. From the way he talked, I think I can trust him."

"Ahh, I can see you losing money again, my friend. Its a scam."

"No... trust me, it won't happen this time."

And then days later, I'll see a long sad face. Another borrowed Rm 10,000 gone up in smoke. Then the cycle repeats itself over and over until the victim finds that no one would lend him money any more.

Yes, I am intensely curious as to why these scams are so addictive. Even hardcore gamblers know better than go back to the casino they lost everything to. No, not these people. They keep on going back. Whatever happened to self-preservation? As in not giving away what's left of one's life savings to a total stranger after having been bitten so many times. Why do people do that to themselves? Some twisted sense of no pain no gain? Preserverance pays off? Never say die?