That's a good analogy.
The best you can do is be aware of the warning signs, but there will be exceptions, some good some bad. I'd imagine that horrible fraudster, Mick Mason looked totally genuine with no alarm bells, unless you really researched. On the other hand I have bought things where the only way I could do the deal was to pay through PayPal and send a courier, which now looks dodgy as hell, I'm not out to scam anyone, but the seller doesn't know that. The scammers make it difficult for genuine buyers who live in regional extremes of the country as well as buyers.
My son is selling a phone on Facebook, because of lockdown a lot of people have asked him to post it but I've told him it's just not worth it. The buyers want to pay through PayPal goods to protect themselves but that leaves my son wide open to getting scammed, even though most of these buyers are probably genuine.