It's not humans communicating in the bitcoin network, it's the clients they are using. If a client doesn't do what its user tells it to there's nothing you can do about it. In this case, using "compromised" addresses is one way of scamming, stealing small amounts of coins from time to time could be a more subtle one.

Therefore to be safe, you need to trust your client. Some safety precautions could be:

• Use an open source client
• Download it from a trusted source over a secured connection
• Make sure you downloaded the right file by comparing its hash with an signed, official one (see instructions for multibit, should be similar for other wallets)
• Keep your system safe (malicious software could alter the wallets behavior)

It's not humans communicating in the bitcoin network, it's the clients they are using. If a client doesn't do what its user tells it to there's nothing you can do about it. In this case, using "compromised" addresses as you suggested is one way of scamming, stealing small amounts of coins from time to time could be a more subtle one.

Therefore to be safe, you need to trust your client not to be manipulated. Some safety precautions could be:

• Use an open source client
• Download it from a trusted source over a secured connection
• Make sure you downloaded the right file by comparing its hash with an signed, official one (see instructions for multibit, should be similar for other wallets)
• Keep your system safe (malicious software could replace the client with a modified version)