as sad as these programmes are, this one is not a scam. - A scam would have to involve a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation, and this is not the case.
Other posters seem to confirm that they get exactly what the contract says and it is a fact that that airline needs a few more FOs for the summer.
Likely, if nothing unforeseen happens, the aircraft will not be parked over the winter, thus needing crews (ask them where they would be for winter and they will tell you. And yes, the winter base is not a nice country to work in, but then they pay a lot better for that too...).
While this programme is just under 9k, it is certainly possible to add 26k for living expenses, flights, etc during its duration to make up 30k. However, even if I went for business class tickets and the Hilton all the way, I would be hard pushed.
scam = a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation
fraud = crime or offense of deliberately deceiving another in order to damage them