The best way one can protect himself best from scams related to bitcoin, is to learn from experience which I have had my own share of where I needed to convert the little coins I have gotten to cash but ended up in the hads of a scammer who used delay tactics on me but I was still immature then. But now, I just don't deal with anybody anyhow. I have a list of trusted guys to help with that and even before transacting I do a lot of ground work confirming nothing has changed since our last transaction.
As they say in the military, safety rules are written in blood. The same thing can be said here in the world of cryptocurrency and online, there are things we have to follow in order not to be victimized by so many scammers and phishers and all the other evil-minded fellows just waiting around like a lion to punch on their prospective victims. Nothing beat experience though when it comes to scams...though it can be costly indeed.