At least the lesson did not cost you that much.
I was blessed with a grandmother who told the teenage me that “everybody lies about everything”, “trust no one”.
She called it—best advice I ever got.
I don’t believe a word anyone says until I have watched them prove their integrity for at least ten years.
I have on occasion loaned $20 to an iffy acquaintance.
If I never saw them again, it was money well spent!