When you fall for a scam that makes outlandish promises for high returns. The scam is typically long-running with none of the promises ever being fulfilled. This causes the victim to invest more and more over time, until the sunk-cost fallacy creeps in, or they abandon the scam at a
significant loss.
The scammer will usually flaunt their ill-gotten gains in front of their victims, often over
social media, while maintaining the pretense that they are a
successful businessman/women, who is innovating in their chosen industry.