Paid links are scams

Paid links are not all scams but low quality ones will hurt you google hates obvious paid links natural looking links from real sites still add value.

Paid links aren't bad, they're still extremely good. I see the issue as being about how they're bought and their quality. Backlinks from spam systems are easily penalized, but paid links from reputable, contextually relevant websites still help increase credibility and sustainably improve organic rankings.