The implicit trust that exists in the frum community is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s nice to visit a neighborhood for the first time, as I did one Shabbos, and be invited into a random Jew’s home while walking home from davening on the basis that I “looked hot and uncomfortable” and could probably use kiddush and some quick refreshment. On the other hand, this same trust opens the doors to all sorts of very non-frum scams that only work on the basis of disbelief that a fellow Jew could scheme to take your money.
Unfortunately, recent exposure of various cases of frum child molestation, abuse and of course– most recently–murder have opened our eyes to the fact that the Jewish People have sickened and bloated in their Galus, focusing sharply, almost insanely, on superficial nonsense instead of on the root of problems.
Perhaps, if we all focus on repairing ourselves, not others, we can arrive at a time when we can completely trust each other again.