I wouldn't call Etherium a scam but it is certainly a poor investment at this point. If you want to get into Etherium, just wait until it launches and people are mining it - I guaranteed the price will go below the IPO price eventually (just like Maidsafe did).
Also, another huge red flag is the way the Etherium people worded their IPO. I'm not sure if everyone realizes that they don't have to deliver anything at all. At this point, they could take the funds, stop working on the project and retire and there isn't a single thing anyone can do about it!