As the SEC put it in an alert published Wednesday: "Potential investors can be easily enticed with the promise of high returns in a new investment space and also may be less skeptical when assessing something novel, new and cutting-edge."

Still, though bitcoin is a new investment opportunity, the SEC's advice for spotting scams would apply to all kinds of general fraud: avoid deals that sound too good to be true, don't give in to high sales pressure, etc.

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If a victim does get sucked in, however, that's where bitcoin does present unique challenges. The digital-only currency is difficult to trace, it's international, it isn't regulated by any central authority and law enforcement has a tough time seizing or freezing those ill-gotten gains.

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Don't fall for bitcoin scams, SEC warns