The poor are especially susceptible to these schemes of deception because the desperation of their economic situation makes them (and their parents or caretakers) more willing to suspend their disbelief, set aside their suspicions, and take greater risks. Their poverty frequently also means they are more likely to be less educated, more naïve, less sophisticated, deferential to people of higher status, and less accustomed to asserting themselves—and therefore easier for confident schemers to deceive. For reasons one can readily anticipate, all of these vulnerabilities are vastly multiplied if
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