Not all ICO is scam.People misinterpret the importance of ico.This is to  help the project grow and gather funds for the development expenses.For me to avoid scam ico,much better to do deep reserch to the project which you want to contribute.Know the dev team behind the project.Check their social media accounts for  assurance like live videos of the team to prove that they have  a legit project and team.Because some ico out there using fake photo to put in their whitepaper.