> I'm sure there are some real a@#holes participating and running these scams
I'd say that all of them are arseholes. The ones running the scams are not the local poor - they are poor relative to us in the west, but not in local economy they are relatively powerful. They are the local criminal hot-shots.
>but often the people on the ground are just human beings who have no other way to earn money
This is the problem. The above people use the poor(er) in their area as cannon fodder. When a 419eater story shows someone in a massively embarrassing situation that is not the scammer, it is some local fool that the scammer has somehow scammed (or forced) into playing the game. Yes they have wasted the scammer's time, but that is not the scammer being humiliated in those pictures.
I'd say that all of them are arseholes. The ones running the scams are not the local poor - they are poor relative to us in the west, but not in local economy they are relatively powerful. They are the local criminal hot-shots.
>but often the people on the ground are just human beings who have no other way to earn money
This is the problem. The above people use the poor(er) in their area as cannon fodder. When a 419eater story shows someone in a massively embarrassing situation that is not the scammer, it is some local fool that the scammer has somehow scammed (or forced) into playing the game. Yes they have wasted the scammer's time, but that is not the scammer being humiliated in those pictures.