When I was in my early 30s (many,many years ago) I took a course at my local community college called “Principles of Investing.” It was taught by a broker from a well known brokerage firm. One thing he said that always stuck with me was that you should never put your money into an investment that you don’t understand. You should know how that particular investment works, what it does to generate money for you, and what the risks are that may cause you to lose your money. It sounds to me like the people quoted in the article didn’t follow that advice. They probably just heard all of the hype about cryptocurrency, thought it was a sure thing, and handed over their money.
Excellent advice. Add one more: never ever invest money with someone who needs the money yesterday.
Sage advice from my late mother!