Indeed you shouldn't be calling anything a scam unless you know it to be true to the satisfaction of a court.
These sorts of deals have been around for a long time. The small print usually allows the airline to walk away and the Wannabe to bear the risk and the costs.
People's failure to read smallprint and their bitterness at having their dreams fail is all part of the business I am afraid.
Though I deplore the exploitation of Wannabes.
WWW