I hardly find that perspective “the usual [on] HN”.

I mean it is generally your fault when you get scammed and your money is gone. Unless they scammed a third party who gave your money away. That is an entirely different can of worms.

It is also the scammers fault for scamming, and they face their own set of consequences.

I also think there is this bizarre double talk on HN where people say sophisticated investor status shouldn't be a thing while also condemning ICOs, which is exactly what happens when sophisticated investor status isn't a thing.

On a side note, I wish the term, "sophisticated investor" wasn't the official one.

It's a misnomer because it implies there is some kind of knowledge or skill threshold required.

What it really means is "has enough money they can afford to lose some".

In reality, there are plenty of people who have tons of money and not a clue how to invest it well.

> I wish the term, "sophisticated investor" wasn't the official one

It's not. "Accredited investor" is the official term. "Sophisticated investor" is a higher finance-colloquial bar, typically requiring one follow institutional best practices (e.g. legal and risk reviews).