Often (and getting worse) people simply don't have a real life so they try to fool themselves into believing there is another life in the future. Imagine, living under conditions of slavery or a horrible disease. Also there is a lot of mental illness in the world. People have gotten PTSD from wars or even dysfunctional abusive family situations. Few of us have a nice life with no material wants. Of course this makes them vulnerable to being conned and screwed over even more than they feel they are already are. Understanding the situations of people can help us understand but, unfortunately, that's not enough.

It's the biggest con and grift there is.