Pig butchering: crypto romance and investment scams
The biggest crypto scam by far, and it starts with a friendly message.
"Pig butchering" is a long con: a stranger builds a friendship or romance over weeks, then introduces you to crypto investing on a fake trading site or app that shows big profits. You keep adding money until you try to withdraw and are told to pay "taxes" or "fees" first. The money was gone from the start. The FBI files it under cryptocurrency investment fraud, which cost Americans $7.2 billion in 2025.
Legitimate support will never ask for your seed phrase (recovery phrase) or private key. Not an exchange, a wallet maker, a lawyer, the police or the FBI. Anyone who asks for it, or asks you to type it into a website, is trying to steal from you.
How big the problem is
In its 2025 report, published in April 2026, the FBI's IC3 recorded 61,559 complaints of cryptocurrency investment fraud with $7.2 billion in losses, up 48% in complaints and 25% in losses from 2024. Separately, romance and confidence scams of all kinds cost $929 million. The FTC, counting reports from its own Consumer Sentinel network, said Americans lost $7.9 billion to investment scams in 2025, with an average individual loss of more than $10,000.
Many of the people typing the messages are themselves victims. On October 14, 2025, the Justice Department charged Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia's Prince Holding Group, and filed to forfeit about 127,271 bitcoin, worth roughly $15 billion at the time, the largest forfeiture action in its history. Prosecutors allege the group ran scam compounds where trafficked workers were forced to run these schemes. The Treasury designated the group a transnational criminal organization and sanctioned 146 related people and companies the same day.
How it works, step by step
- First contact. A "wrong number" text, a dating-app match, a LinkedIn or Facebook message, or an investing group on WhatsApp or Telegram. The profile is attractive and successful, often with stolen photos.
- Fattening. Weeks of daily chat. They ask about your life, share theirs, and become a trusted friend or partner. Money isn't mentioned at first.
- The tip. They mention an uncle, a mentor or an "insider" who trades crypto, and show screenshots of their profits.
- The platform. They walk you through buying crypto on a real exchange, then sending it to a trading site or app they recommend. The site is fake, built to look like a real exchange. See how to check a trading site.
- Fake profits. Your balance climbs. Often you're allowed one small withdrawal to build trust.
- Escalation. A "limited window" to invest more. Some victims take out loans, cash retirement savings or mortgage their homes.
- The trap. When you try to withdraw, you're told to pay a tax, a fee or a deposit first, or your account is "frozen for suspicious activity."
- The second wave. After you stop paying, a recovery scammer often appears.
Warning signs
- Someone you've never met in person steering the conversation toward investing.
- They avoid video calls, or the video is brief, blurry or glitchy.
- Guaranteed or steady high returns, with no losing weeks.
- Pressure to move the chat to WhatsApp, Telegram or another private app.
- A trading site or app you can't find in official app stores, or that you reach only through their link.
- Being asked to keep it secret from family, or told what to say if your bank asks questions.
- Any fee or tax that must be paid before you can withdraw. Real platforms deduct fees from your balance.
If the FBI contacts you
Since January 2024 the FBI's Operation Level Up has notified more than 8,000 people that they were being scammed, saving them an estimated $500 million. In 2025 alone it reached 3,780 victims, and 78% of them didn't know they were being defrauded. A real agent will tell you to stop paying; they will not ask you for money, gift cards or your seed phrase. If unsure, hang up and call your local FBI field office using a number you look up yourself.
If it happened to you
- Stop sending money, however urgent the request, and however much is "almost unlocked."
- Don't confront the scammer or tell them you've reported them. Save the chat history first; they often delete accounts.
- Write everything down before anything gets deleted: wallet addresses, transaction IDs (hashes), website addresses, usernames, phone numbers, screenshots of chats, dates and amounts.
- Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reports are free. If funds land at a regulated exchange, law enforcement can sometimes freeze them, and speed matters. A local police report gives you a reference number for your bank or insurer.
- Contact the exchange you sent from, and the receiving exchange if the blockchain shows one, through its official website or app (never a number or link from a search ad or a stranger). Ask them to flag the addresses and the transactions.
- Expect a second scam. Victims are targeted again by fake "recovery" firms, fake lawyers and fake FBI agents. Real law enforcement never charges a fee. Read crypto recovery scams.
Losing savings to someone you trusted is devastating, and it happens to careful, intelligent people. Talk to someone you trust. In the US you can call or text 988 at any time if you feel overwhelmed. AARP's Fraud Watch Network helpline (877-908-3360) also offers free support to people of any age.
Need the steps in order? Use the emergency checklist for a compromised wallet or account.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called pig butchering?
It's a translation of a Chinese term (sha zhu pan) used by the scammers themselves: they 'fatten' the victim with attention and fake profits before the 'slaughter.' Many agencies now say 'relationship investment scam' instead.
Can I get my money back from a pig butchering scam?
Usually not, but report quickly to ic3.gov: when funds reach regulated exchanges or stablecoin issuers, some can be frozen, and seized funds are sometimes returned to victims through court processes.
The site let me withdraw a small amount. Doesn't that prove it's real?
No. Allowing one small withdrawal is a standard part of the con. It builds trust so you deposit more.
I'm being asked to pay tax before I can withdraw. Is that normal?
No. A real exchange never requires a separate payment before releasing your balance, and taxes are paid to the government, not to a platform.
Where to next
Sources
- FBI IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report (published April 2026)
- Cryptocurrency and AI scams bilk Americans of billions (FBI)
- FTC testimony to the Joint Economic Committee on the scam economy, March 25, 2026
- Department of Justice seizes about $15 billion in bitcoin relating to pig butchering scheme (Baker McKenzie summary of the October 14, 2025 DOJ action)
- FinCEN alert on prevalent virtual currency investment fraud schemes commonly known as pig butchering (September 2023)
- What to know about cryptocurrency and scams (FTC)
Written for beginners and checked against the sources listed. Last reviewed November 5, 2026. This page is educational and is not financial, tax or legal advice. How we write and check pages.