Although I don't know the one you try that later turns out to be a scam, sincerely, I know that there are some passive ways to make money that are not scams, or maybe you did not have enough knowledge about the one you tried before, that are not scams, or maybe you did not have enough knowledge about the one you tried before, which is why they scam you. However, you can invest in places, including crypto, and you will earn money.
Furthermore, when they say passive income, it doesn't mean you will not work at all, just that there will not be much effort or stress before you earn, so you just need to do your own research before you start up any of this stuff. I don't know which one to do because we are afraid you will lose and blame someone.
I feel like the ratio of "scam/non-scam" is high, which is why people fear it. There are of course some not scam methods of doing it, like proof of stake which would give you a passive income, but also there are many methods which will crash and lose all your money and the number of those scam ones are a lot more, which is why people fear it.
It is like walking on a mine field, you may blow up, or you may just go straight and stay alive, you do not know which one will work, you have no idea if it is smart or not, you just do it and hope for the best. Obviously it is not going to be simple, and it will take time, but you should still be doing it no matter what. I believe that the best way to move forward is to have belief in yourself.