They aren’t.

In fact, they are just as successful in person, if not slightly more so.

The media simply finds it “sexier” to promote online scams over their “brick and mortar” cousins IRL. The Internet is still a relatively new phenomenon and , as such, is great when the news days are slow and the press is seeking a boogeyman to bash or something with which to terrify the people in flyover country.

The reality is that if you are going to be scammed out of a great deal of money, you are going to meet the con artists, shake their hand and even have them over to your home for a meal. They may even take you out to eat (on someone else’s dime, of course) and then get you to write them a large check or send them a wire transfer. They’ll look you in the eye and steal your money, rather do so from a cluster of computers in Moldova or Ghana.

Worse than that, your family, friends or acquaintances are ones most likely to scam you. They know your personal information, they have an idea about your wealth and they know which buttons to push to get it. They don’t have to use a computer as they have personal access to you and they can steal vastly greater sums than almost any stranger on the Internet ever could. This isn’t funny, “sexy” or even high tech. It’s disturbing and uncomfortable which is why you don’t read about the media addressing it.

Frankly, it pays to be skeptical about the success of scammers online. While it certainly does happen, it’s still far easier to con people in person than it is over the Internet.

You are so right about this!

You obviously don't know what identity theft and business Email compromise / wire scams are.