Coinbase.com is not a scam. It's one of the largest most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges with over 10 million users, 32 countries served and over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency bought and sold. I personally have an account there and I use it all the time. It's super easy to use and probably the best place for a beginner to get started. It's a great place to sell your alt coins back to fiat. The prices are good but they charge a high fee to purchase with a credit card. You're better off sending them a bank wire. If you sign up an account there through any of the links on this page you'll get $10 worth of free bitcoin.