Crypto and Investment Scams ("Pig Butchering")

Not every scam is a rushed phone call. Some of the most devastating ones unfold slowly over weeks or months. The "pig butchering" scam — named for the way scammers "fatten up" a victim with attention before the slaughter — has cost victims billions.

How it unfolds

It usually starts with an unexpected but friendly message: a wrong-number text, a match on a dating app, a professional connection. The person is warm, attentive, and in no hurry. Over days or weeks they build genuine-feeling rapport. Eventually the conversation turns to how well they have done investing in cryptocurrency, and they offer to show you.

They guide you to a real-looking trading platform or app. Your early small "investments" appear to grow, and you may even be allowed to withdraw a little — proof it is legitimate. Encouraged, you invest more, sometimes your life savings. When you try to withdraw the larger balance, there is always a reason you cannot: a "tax," a "fee," a "verification deposit." The money is gone. The platform was fake, the balance was a number on a screen they controlled.

Warning signs

• An online-only relationship that moves toward money or investing, no matter how slowly.
• A "can’t-lose" investment opportunity, guaranteed returns, or insider access.
• Being directed to an unfamiliar trading app or website, or asked to convert money to crypto.
• Pressure to invest more, or fees required before you can withdraw.
• Someone who avoids video calls or in-person meetings but is emotionally intense.

If it has happened to you

This scam preys on trust, and being caught by it is not a reflection of intelligence — the operations are professional and psychological. Stop all payments immediately, keep records of the accounts and websites involved, report it to the FBI’s IC3 and your bank, and report the platform URL here so others can be warned. You are not alone, and reporting helps investigators map these networks.