The Scam Economy: Why Everyone Online Is Selling You Something

Listen to the Episode

https://youtu.be/U9krT0gtVnE

Episode Summary

Everyone online seems to have discovered the secret to success.

Make six figures working two hours a day. Build passive income while you sleep. Escape the rat race. Become your own boss. Retire early. And if you act fast, they’ll teach you exactly how they did it… for just $997.

But here’s the question we couldn’t stop asking:

If these methods really work, why are so many people making their money teaching other people how to do them instead of actually doing them?

In this episode of Seriously Sus, Nanette and Miranda dive into the strange world of internet gurus, business coaches, side hustles, passive income, and the growing industry built around selling the dream of financial freedom.

This isn’t an episode about calling every coach or course a scam. Many are legitimate and genuinely helpful. Instead, we’re exploring the incentives behind the modern creator economy, why confidence so often gets mistaken for expertise, and how social media has blurred the line between education, marketing, inspiration, and manipulation.

Along the way, we examine:

  • Why luxury lifestyles have become marketing tools
  • How social proof influences our decisions
  • The psychology behind “limited-time” offers and guru culture
  • Why attention has become one of the world’s most valuable currencies
  • The red flags that separate real expertise from performative success

Because in an economy where everyone is selling the secret to getting rich…Who is actually getting rich?

Research Citations

We don’t just side-eye; we cite our sources.

Source: Federal Trade Commission. Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers
Link: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/disclosures-101-social-media-influencers

Source: Federal Trade Commission. Multi-Level Marketing Businesses and Pyramid Schemes
Link: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/multi-level-marketing-businesses-pyramid-schemes

Source: Horton, Donald & Wohl, R. Richard (1956). Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a Distance. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215–229.
Link: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1957-02230-001

Source: Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
Link: https://www.influenceatwork.com/books/

Source: Simon, Herbert A. (1971). Designing Organizations for an Information-Rich World.
Link: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/540365.540368

Source: Davenport, Thomas H., & Beck, John C. The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business.
Link: https://books.google.com/books?id=YWdRAAAAMAAJ

Source: Goldman Sachs Research. The Creator Economy Could Approach Half-a-Trillion Dollars by 2027.
Link: https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/the-creator-economy-could-approach-half-a-trillion-dollars-by-2027

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investor.gov.
Link: https://www.investor.gov

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
Link: https://www.ic3.gov

Source: Better Business Bureau. BBB Scam Tracker.
Link: https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker

Resources and Support

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