Why can't people just be honest anymore?

Lying is an ancient human trait.

During our hunter/gatherer days, being part of a tribe or group meant the difference between life or death. To a human being being kicked out of the group meant death. So, it was VERY important to maintain good status with everyone in the group. Which meant that sometimes, when faced with a mistake that an individual made, not telling the truth or embellishing the situation became necessary to maintain good standing.

Over time, lying became a necessary human trait. It was the outcome of developing human intelligence as a survival skill. Without the ability to lie, it's doubtful that human being would still be surviving to this day.

Given the extreme pressures humans face today in our society, it has become more of a common practice to lie. Think about it. In order to be successful nowadays, you have to have special schooling, have special skills, know just the right people, etc. It's no wonder people lie so much. Modern life is tough.

It's hard to be judges when you're being honest, so people throw out red herrings so others don't discover who they really are.

Why are there people that take advantage of other's honesty? Why are they so hard to identify? Why does honesty lead to punishment in more cases than it leads to reward?