Well I do have my own way in order to detect if the projects is a scam or legit however there are time that i'm still falling into scam projects, Actually I've made a thread about avoiding being scammed again but just what i've said it's not guaranteed because the Scammers are also evolving, we think that the project is legit because of the perfect presentation of whitepaper, hype of the community, number of investors, etc. but it end up being a scam.
•Check the Background of the team (If the team didn't give info about each member of the team such as name previous projects, background, etc. There's a possibility that they will just run away with your money if they didn't give info's about their team.)
•Read their whitepaper and look if it's really worth to invest with, their concept, etc. (This is important to know what the project is all about.)
•Check the Social media accounts, If you find it very interesting presentable. (Join their telegram group in order to be updated.)
•Check the Projects professionalism (How they handle users, control frauds, etc.)
•Follow their Roadmap and other technical details and see if they meet it on time.
•Look for the projects community and see if the community is active.
•Look for special proof and validation.
•Do your own research about the project such as review about the projects or you can also check the projects ANN thread to see comments who's agree/disagree or the communities idea about the project because ANN threads is like an open forum where you can ask, give insights, etc.
I just copied it from my thread, that's how I choose projects and if the project didn't meet my standards then I will not risk my capital however it's not guaranteed this is all according to my own perception and perspective. Here's the link to my thread:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3196383.msg33152916