this action has been there for a long time, they use altcoin to make profit. but, there are many people still try to have their value, because, maybe they get luck. we never know who the true and the scam coin.
thats why, if someone ask about altcoin, just say about popular coin, or back to bitcoin. its hard to take newcomer in crypto, but there are many popular that give you profit.
Altcoins are indeed more risky to invest as they are easily affected by big whales in the market or even current negative news as the market will easily dump and thus affecting most of the altcoins, most likely those altcoins with low trading volume. So if you are still a newbie, invest in bitcoin first as its the most promising and trusted coin the market. Even if you just simply buy and hold it, you can still expect good profits when the price has skyrocket. And once you have made profits already, if you think of diversifying your portfolio, then maybe invest in some established altcoins as they are expected to grow and prosper more than any other altcoins.