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Comment by rmbyrro | Hacker News Reader

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rmbyrro·

5. What is cryptocurrency

6. Do not fall for crypto scams

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Ponzi schemes, MLMs, a whole set in the “if it’s too good to be true” bucket

I learned about Ponzi schemes in US government in middle school in VA in about 2000.

A unit explaining some common financial scams, and how to recognize and avoid them, would be excellent to include.

For example: Check cashing scams are extremely common, and can be financially ruinous. Many of these scams could be avoided if students knew that checks take time to clear, and were warned to be extremely suspicious of requests to spend or give away money from a check that might not have cleared.

Honestly this is the bank's fault. The bank should not give money for the check unless everything is alright. Or if it gives money, it should also give a warning or something. You can't expect customers to know all the quirks.

I think checks made a lot more sense to people when no consumer transactions were electronic, and cash was the only instant transfer people dealt with.

Bad checks were an easy concept to understand when everyone was carrying around a handwritten checkbook register

the fundamental problem with cryptocurrency is that it requires being your bank and all that entails for IT security, or else you need to rely on a thrid party and there defeats the purpose and meaning of it being cryptocurrency.

It's impossible for a layperson to use crypticut effectively without becoming an expert, so the only broad education you can give is "stay away, as with day-trading stocks, and options, and any fast money schemes".

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