1. never invest in any ICO
it is not like there is a shortage of ways to make profit in the cryptocurrncy market that you would have to only choose ICOs. there are lots of ways to make profit and trading is the most popular one which has a better chance of giving you a lot more profit. and it is safer because you can see the history of the coin you are buying and selling instead of giving your money to someone who you don't even know and have not yet seen anything from them!
Exactly! No exposure means no risk. That article isn't enough.
I tell you, I invested in 1 really nice ICO that passed all the article's list. Escrow protection (wow, right?). Incredible developer. Backed by the highest reputation people. Real products, real IDs, real people with real video calls etc.
Failed. They even still refuse to call it a scam ICO, because "they tried" and "they have a product" (which you could have paid people a few thousand dollars to make!).
My lesson. Invest but expect scam and nothing more.