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.