An ex-cop fell for Alice — then he fell for her $66 million crypto scam

Americans lost around $750 million to crypto scams in 2021. A retired police officer has recently discovered that his $15,000 crypto investment was part of a multimillion crypto catfishing scam. As the currency rockets in popularity, thousands of savvy people get hustled out of their crypto left and right. And there’s almost nothing they can do to get it back. In this insight into the troubling world of crypto scamming, Jeremy B. Merrill and Steven Zeitchik tell a ‘particularly American story, one in which a shiny new financial tool dangles the prospect of middle-class stability — but also lures criminals eager to take advantage of its anonymity and baffling complexity.’