Yes, it would never have made sense to me to pay money to someone to earn money. I was 18/19, and had stupidly dropped out of a college I hated for a relationship and found a job posting in the paper for a "warehouse job". I called, they said come in for an interview. I was ecstatic, what a win! My girlfriend drove me there, and it was a door-to-door steak sales job. They told me all the usual you can make so much money doing this, you work your way up and make connections and grow your area. They told me at the end when I was almost into it that I would have to buy the steaks from them and pay myself off the difference.

I looked at the dumbasses around me buying it with fresh eyes and saw that they were people VERY MUCH not in good places in life and got up and walked out. 2 years of bullshit jobs later, I found my way back to the tech career I went to college for, but in support not development bc degree issues.

"This is not a job--it's a business opportunity, and like all business opportunities, it requires a meaningful up-front investment from you. This investment buys you access to the tools you need to [...]" - Fraudster

I can see trusting or impressionable 18-19 year olds falling for this, especially if this is their first interviewing experience and job offer--they might think it's normal.