By now you have probably heard of bitcoin, even if you haven’t used it yourself. Launched 11 years ago, bitcoin is a digital currency that operates independently of third-party oversight from banks or governments. It allows two people anywhere in the world to exchange value across the internet in minutes.

Although it has not found success as a mainstream, transactional currency, it is increasingly used in scams. On 15 July, it was featured in a hack of prominent Twitter accounts. Purporting to be former President Obama, Bill Gates and Kanye West, hackers steered Twitter followers to send $1,000 in bitcoin, promising $2,000 in return. They drew more than $100,000 before the scam was shut down.