It does make you perceive life as less precious because the constant struggle creates a negative association with everything. Suicidal ideation seems to be a natural progression for long-term poverty.
The observation about falling for scams is spot-on. Nowadays you don't even have to be very poor to find yourself in this situation. Opportunities are so rare that you cannot pass up any opportunity at all, if there is even 10% chance that it's not a scam, then it could be the best opportunity of your life... I'm not even talking about lottery, getting a decent paid job can feel like a lottery when you don't have any money.
The observation about falling for scams is spot-on. Nowadays you don't even have to be very poor to find yourself in this situation. Opportunities are so rare that you cannot pass up any opportunity at all, if there is even 10% chance that it's not a scam, then it could be the best opportunity of your life... I'm not even talking about lottery, getting a decent paid job can feel like a lottery when you don't have any money.