With the same low level reasoning I would say people are only sorry for her because she is a woman, that needs to be protected. Reverse the sexes in the story and you dont get much of an interesting story

What a blindly judgemental farce. Maybe don't project your own prejudice onto others?

Would you have shared / commented on the story and participated in the buzz of a story where the two sexes were reversed ?

Obviously. Why would I give a damn what's between the legs of someone that was a victim of fraud? It's just as sad when guys are catfished for scams and I feel the same empathy for them.

It’s not obvious to me this story would have reached you and me with the same strength, allowing us to talk together here

Fair enough, but I personally consider it a problem regardless of the gender of the victim.

Yeah, so what? That's how a lot of life works. If I had to practice maximal empathy and view every misfortune I hear about through the lens of "Oh my god, what if it happened to me!" I would be catatonically depressed and wouldn't be able to function. It's too bad for this lady. I wouldn't laugh in her face about it of course. But come on, the pictures are funny. It's okay to find humor in dark things. I try to find humor in my own misfortunes as well. That's life.