I am slowly coming to grips with the profitability of scams.
A scheme can be an obvious scam to 95% of all viewers, but still be effective enough to generate a profit. 

A crop of signs, reading "Real Estate Investor Seeks Apprentice! $20K per month" have caught my eye. They sprout up from time to time near freeway off-ramps in Sacramento.

They look pretty suspicious:

1. There is no name or identifying mark
2. "Apprentice" could mean a paid position, an unpaid internship, or even a spot on TV.
3. The pay is too high to advertise on plastic signs.

I ignored them for more than a year, honestly expecting them to disappear. Instead, they multiplied. I began to notice a variety of new phone numbers on the signs. More people were getting involved. The scheme was spreading.

I decided to investigate the only avenue available: I called the phone number.