Most of the time, it is already too late before we realize that the project is going to disappear or end up as a scam.
While some are sincere with their endeavors but the problem is their financial capability, why some are ending their developments.
Up until now, there's no defined strategy how to spot a legit and scam project, you just look for possible warnings.
Like for example, if the project is using fake images of their members, then, the likelihood that it will bad is high.
When im still noob i do really have this kind of problem but once you do gain sufficient experience and awareness then you would able to point out directly which project is worth
and which project should be avoided but it wont really be simple as it sounds yet you would still need to make out some research most of the time.