About your second paragraph, to be fair, most passive income schemes involve starting capital (a large amount). Then, this capital is invested into _relatively_ safe or low-vol assets (investment property, gov't bonds, utility stocks for divs), and passive income is received. Alternatively, you could buy something like a stable, middle-aged oil or natural gas rig. Or managed, commercial forest. Or rights to media to receive royalties. Yes, scams can exist in any investment scheme, but the previously mentioned ones are accessible, and safe for 1-5% of people with sufficient capital.

What bothers me the most about the endless YouTube videos and "financial advice" blog posts about passive income: They fail to explain how you acquire the initial capital! Frequently, they saved millions from a previous job, like a Wall Street trader/salesperson or a senior FAANG engineer.

I liked this video from Plain Bagel, "The Passive Income Scam": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqZbO8Ojhmw