I'm sorry, I didn't want to refute your point, but I do believe that saying that "Income generating real estate is a recipe to hand your money over to scamsters" is too harsh and partially incorrect.

My father goes to his rental property maybe twice per year, so he most definitely isn't "there". He does have to keep it in mind, pay for repairs, and make some phone calls.

I believe that making money of rent is "earning every penny" because he put all his effort before in creating the capital, but, to make a comparison, he makes the same for his maybe one day a month (plus the initial capital) than I do for a month of work.

So I'd describe it as an "asset that makes money for you without you having to be there".