I think the only way we can protect ourselves from scam and scammer is by doing a lot of investigation and studying both of the team and the project in every aspect! I know that this require a lot of time and certain skills but this is the only way we can protect ourselves right now.
We should create a shared database where to register scam ICO, project, scammer and other suspicious things. This would be a nice idea I think.
While I have no knowledge of any shared database, this forum constantly talks about the recent happenings and news about crypto and possibly ICOs. If there are any victims or those who feel suspicious, one may post about it here in the forum in order to have further discussion. This could help you determine whether the ICO which you are investing in is actually a scam but this is not an actual guarantee.