Our Greed Has Made It Easy For Scammers To Make Fools Of Us Everyday In Kenya

Greed is an insatiable beast, a monster that feeds on the marrow of human folly. It whispers sweet nothings in our ears, promising untold riches and effortless success. And like moths to a flame, we rush toward it, eyes wide with hunger, pockets open like baby birds waiting to be fed. What follows, inevitably, is ruin. But do we learn? No. We dust ourselves off, convince ourselves that the next scheme is different, and dive headfirst into the next con.

“A greedy father has thieves for children,” an Indian proverb warns. Yet, in our times, we have become our thieving children, robbing ourselves of common sense, logic, and prudence. Greed blinds us so thoroughly that even the most ludicrous scams find willing victims. A prince from a distant land needs our help moving millions? Of course! A magical cryptocurrency promising 500% returns in a week? Where do we sign up? A pastor selling anointed oil that guarantees financial breakthrough? Praise be! We are not simply victims; we are eager accomplices in our deception.

The irony of greed is that it masquerades as ambition. It seduces us with the illusion of control when, in truth, it leaves us powerless. The man who believes he is one clever deal away from fortune is the easiest prey. He sits before the scammer, nodding eagerly, his mind drowning in dreams of yachts and mansions. He does not hear the warning bells, nor does he see the red flags waving before his eyes. Greed has deafened him, has made him blind.

Scammers do not need to be smart. They only need to be patient. They watch, they wait, and when they see that familiar hunger—the craving for something unearned—they pounce. They do not steal; they simply extend an invitation to ruin, and we accept it gleefully.

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There is a Nigerian proverb that says, “The one who wants to swallow a whole coconut must have faith in his anus.” But greed does not stop at coconuts. It reaches for gold-plated cow dung, for castles built of smoke, for wealth that is as fleeting as morning mist. And the stomach of greed, unlike faith, is bottomless. It devours, and it never feels full.

We are scammed every day, not because scammers are ingenious, but because we are reckless. The lure of easy money dulls our reason. We sign contracts we do not read, invest in schemes we do not understand, and hand over our savings to strangers whose only qualification is a slick suit and a charming lie. We ignore logic, abandon caution, and then wail when we find ourselves stripped of everything.

Greed has burned civilizations to the ground. It built empires and crumbled them in the same breath. From the Dutch Tulip Mania to the collapse of Enron, from Ponzi schemes to pyramid scams, history is littered with the corpses of those who believed they could have it all without consequence. Yet, despite the warnings carved in the ruins of the past, we refuse to listen. We insist that we are different, that we are smarter.

We are no different from the gambler who believes his next bet will be the one to change his luck. He sits, eyes locked on the dice, ignoring the debt piling at his feet. He is the embodiment of us all—the hopeful fool, the willing victim, the servant of greed.

And what of those who are not scammed by money, but by power? The politician who believes he can loot the treasury endlessly without retribution. The businessman who exploits the desperate is convinced that profit will always outweigh morality. The preacher who turns faith into a marketable product, preying on the fears of his flock. Their greed is no different from the man who falls for a get-rich-quick scheme; they just have bigger targets and more expensive suits.

An old Greek is saying: “Greedy men dig their graves with their teeth.” And indeed, they do. But the greatest tragedy is that they dig graves not just for themselves, but for societies, for generations. Entire nations have collapsed under the weight of greed—be it through corruption, economic exploitation, or the blind pursuit of power.

The saddest truth about greed is that it makes beggars of us all. The billionaire who hoards wealth while his workers starve is as empty as the man who loses his life savings to a con. Both are prisoners of their insatiable hunger. Both are slaves to the illusion that more will ever be enough.

There is no cure for greed. No sermon will cleanse it, no law will restrain it. The only antidote is wisdom—the quiet voice that reminds us that nothing worth having comes easy, that patience is the only true wealth, and that the best things in life cannot be bought or stolen.

But wisdom is a whisper, and greed is a scream. And so, the scams will continue. The greedy will keep falling, and the scammers will keep rising. It is the oldest story in the world, and it will never end.

Because as long as we believe in something for nothing, we will always end up with nothing for something.

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