Cryptocurrency scams have soared 1,000% since October
CBSN
As the popularity — and price — of bitcoin, dogecoin and ethereum continue to rise, so too do the online scams associated with those digital currencies.
Americans have lost more than $80 million in cryptocurrency investment scams since October, a 1,000% increase from the fall of 2019, according to Federal Trade Commission data. People between the ages of 20 and 39 were hit particularly hard, representing about 44% of the reported losses, the FTC said. The FTC data, released Monday, showed about 7,000 reports of crypto investment scams received by the agency since last fall, with a median loss of $1,900. The losses are taking place as bitcoin prices surge, celebrities back dogecoin and more Americans try to understand what cryptocurrency is all about.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.