What causes the confusion about the Mafia?

The confusion about the Mafia is almost always perpetuated by the organization itself, and almost everyone in Sicily understands the irony that the trouble from which the Mafia protects people is very often created by the Mafia itself. In exchange for protection by the Mafia, people become indebted to the organization and ultimately must pay. Payment is not necessarily in the form of money but sometimes takes the form of business or political needs such as the hiring of an ex-convict, the extension of a loan to a risky customer or sheltering unknown persons for a period of time.