You may have heard about virtual currencies like Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin. But what are virtual currencies? What’s this “to the moon!” business on the internet about? And, as a consumer, what risks should you be aware of?

While virtual currencies offer the potential for innovation, a lot of big issues have yet to be resolved – some of which are critical, including:

Virtual currencies are targets for hackers who have been able to breach sophisticated security systems in order to steal funds

Virtual currencies can cost consumers more to use than credit cards or even regular cash once you take exchange rate issues into consideration

Fraudsters are taking advantage of the hype surrounding virtual currencies to cheat people with fake opportunities

If you trust a company to hold your virtual currencies and something goes wrong, that company may not offer you the kind of help you expect from your bank or debit or credit card provider

Check out our consumer advisory for more things that you should think about if you’re considering using virtual currencies and links to other useful resources.