You're correct that there is risk. It's called investing. And that's exactly what OP was asking about.
Investing in things which rely on market, such as stocks, commodities, forex is one thing and it contains a risk, which is understandable but they don't have the risk of a
loss by theft but sending money to a site which may run away with your money is not called investment but scam.
And advising such sites is not recommended, especially to newbies who are just entering the bitcoin world. Its same as someone asking for directions and you throwing them in front of a bus.
Scamming is every where dude. Not only in bitcoin that you can see in fiat currency as well. All you need to is find the perfect escrow manager to avoid to get Scamming. Because it's trust worthy for the both the side people