The whole publishing for pay scam strikes me as foolish given most good writers do research before they commit.
I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
Are you saying that it is foolish for the scammers to do because writers do research? Obviously, not true or so many people wouldn't be running those type of scams. And, just reading the board you can see people falling for places like PA and falling in with disreputable publishers/agents.
Are you saying foolish for writers? I'd agree to a point, though I would point out that vanity presses do have their uses. Obviously, there is no good reason for a person to actually pay a 'fee' anymore with places like Lulu (I think that's the name of that 'free' service) though I haven't ever seen a Lulu book so quality might be an issue.
Offhand, a good reason for a vanity press would be getting a family history printed. Not something a publisher is going to do (unless it is a very famous family) but something a family might cherish