Why does Real Estate often synonymous with scams?

[Angelo Palazzo]

I'm a complete newbie.  I live in Los Angeles and I've realized that I'm never going to be financially free if I continue simply earning a paycheck.  I've been wanting to start in Real Estate investing yeeeeeeaaarss ago but never took the steps until now.

My goal this year is to purchase a Duplex, live in one side of it, rent the other.  This seems to me to be the best way to start my RE investing career.

This morning, Youtube fed me a video from Morris Invest. 

I watched the video, and it seemed great.  Went to the website and all seemed good.  Maybe too good? 

I decided to come here and a simple search brought up tons of info of what a scam he his and how many folks have lost everything with him.

Why is this something I am constantly encountering? 

Why is Real Estate synonymous with cheaters, scammers, schemes and crooks?  It's exhausting and terrifying.

Can someone here please point me in the direction of some real people who are actually legit and honest people who are making this happen who I can learn from?

BP definitely seems legit and real but who the heck knows? 

One other person I encountered on Youtube is Ken McElroy.  He seems honest and trust worthy.  He has a new course coming out that's $400.  Is it worth it?  Has anyone worked with him?  Is he a scammer too?  I haven't searched BP about him yet but I will as soon as I post this.

I really want to buy a duplex this year but I don't want it to destroy me in the process but I'm already encountering crooks and sharks. 

What the heck?