The Tinder Swindler on Netflix is another example of this. Theranos isn't far off, either, although it was more "legitimate".
I disagree with your last paragraph, though. These weren't "anonymous" people, they were liars (often using their real identities and definitely using their real faces). There have been con artists for decades.
These people aren't trying to steal money and sneak off into the darkness. They're trying to brute force their way into their version of success, where their actual real identities are attached.
Fake it until you make it is incredibly toxic for everyone - it gets people in over their heads in situations they have no experience for, it convinces folks to scam everyone around them, and it causes mental health issues for everyone as they can’t figure out if they should be more or less delusional than others.
It’s about time for some actual ‘experience and responsibility matter’ to come back - but it will have to get worse before it gets better, and hopefully we don’t get stuck in the ‘scam zone’
I disagree with your last paragraph, though. These weren't "anonymous" people, they were liars (often using their real identities and definitely using their real faces). There have been con artists for decades.
These people aren't trying to steal money and sneak off into the darkness. They're trying to brute force their way into their version of success, where their actual real identities are attached.