I got scammed as well. Helpless feeling, not much to do about it. As a result I spend a lot of time trying to establish a posaitive relationship. I guess not much point. Good news is that there are far more trustworthy people than bad ones.
I agree there are a lot of trustworthy ppl in the ltc and btc forums and shops etc., this won't be true once the masses catch on, but there will be more secure ways of doing business with people once that happens as well.