In the late 19th century, itinerant salesmen wandered the American frontier hawking 'snake oil'—a miracle cure for every ailment, or so they claimed. Their concoctions did little more than empty the pockets of credulous buyers, yet their methods—confidence, charisma, and cunning—are echoed in today’s digital scam industry. The conveyor belt of deception has simply shifted gears: from the medicine show tent to glowing smartphone screens and labyrinthine call centers spread across the globe.

But here’s something curious: deception, it turns out, is as old as society itself. Ancient Greeks recounted tales of the Trojan Horse; Ming-era Chinese tricksters would pass fake gold coins to travelers. What causes entire societies throughout history to struggle against organized scams and why do structures—sometimes even states—enable them? Is it poverty, collapsing norms, simple greed, or something else—a flaw hardwired into opportunistic human nature? Could it be that every era has its 'enablers'?

Reflect for a moment: What would the notorious 19th-century conman "Soapy Smith" make of today’s cyber-scams, powered by bots and social engineering? Or, more pointedly, how do our present-day vulnerabilities—data leaks, social isolation, trust in digital authorities—shape the contours of the con? The technology may change, but the psychology of trust and betrayal feels timeless.

Maybe the next time your email pings with too-good-to-be-true promises, you’ll hear the faint echo of a snake oil salesman’s pitch, reminding us that the real battleground against scams may be the ancient art of skepticism—more vital, perhaps, than any firewall.

This article was inspired by the headline: 'Amnesty says Cambodia is enabling brutal scam industry'.