Investment and crypto fraud · Also called sha zhu pan, crypto romance investment scam, relationship investment scam
Pig butchering
Pig butchering is a long con where a stranger builds trust over weeks, often after a wrong-number text or a dating app match, then steers the victim into a fake crypto trading platform. The platform shows growing profits until the victim tries to withdraw and is told to pay taxes or fees first.
How it works
- First contact looks accidental or social: a wrong-number text, a message on social media, a dating app match, or a professional networking request.
- The scammer builds a friendship or romance over days or weeks and moves the chat to a private messaging app.
- They mention their own success with crypto trading and offer to teach the victim, pointing to a website or app that looks like a real exchange.
- Small early deposits show large fake gains, and a small withdrawal may be allowed to build confidence before bigger deposits are encouraged.
- When the victim tries to take out a larger sum, the platform demands taxes, fees, or penalties, and the scammer disappears once payments stop.
Red flags
- Someone you have never met in person brings up crypto investing or offers to teach you how to trade.
- The trading site or app was sent to you by that person, not found on your own, or was downloaded from a link rather than an official app store.
- Returns look unusually high and steady, and you are urged to add more money before a deadline.
- You are asked to pay a tax, fee, or penalty before you can withdraw your own money.
- The person refuses video calls or always has a reason they cannot meet.
- You are told to keep the investment secret from family or your bank.
If you are targeted
- Stop contact and do not send more money, including any tax or fee to unlock a withdrawal.
- Call your bank or exchange straight away and ask them to stop or recall any pending transfers.
- Save the chats, the platform address, wallet addresses, and transaction records before they are deleted.
- Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.
- Expect recovery scams: anyone who contacts you offering to get your money back for a fee, including people claiming to be lawyers, regulators, or the FBI, is running a second scam.
Prevention
For individuals
- Never mix online relationships and investment advice: treat any investing tip from someone you met online as a warning sign.
- Do not reply to texts from unknown numbers, even friendly ones that look like a wrong number.
- Check any trading platform with your national regulator's register and search its name with the word scam before sending anything.
- Talk to someone you trust before moving savings, and never take out a loan or remortgage to fund an online investment.
For organisations
- Banks can watch for FinCEN's red flags: a customer with no crypto history suddenly buying large amounts, liquidating savings early, or sending payments labelled as taxes or fees.
- Banks and exchanges can pause and talk to customers who mention an investment opportunity from a new online contact.
By the numbers
Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.
| Crypto investment fraud losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025 (part of Investment fraud losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025) | $7.23B | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
| Investment fraud losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025 | $8.65B | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
| Investment scam losses reported to the FTC in 2025 | $7.9B | US, 2025, FTC |
| Investment scam losses in the UK in 2025 (authorised push payment) | £221.5M | GB, 2025, UK Finance |
| Investment scam losses reported in Australia in 2025 | A$837.7M | AU, 2025, ACCC |
| Annual profits of industrial-scale scam centres in East and Southeast Asia, estimated at just under this amount | $40B | East and Southeast Asia, 2025, UNODC |
| Losses involving cryptocurrency reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025 (overlaps other categories, never summed) | $11.37B | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
Real cases
2026-02 · US · Sentenced · $73.6M stolen
Daren Li sentenced over $73 million crypto scam laundering, 20262025-11 · US · Charged · $401.7M seized
US Scam Center Strike Force targets Southeast Asian scam centres, 20252025-10 · US · Charged · $15B seized
Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi charged over Cambodian scam compounds, 20252024-08 · US · Sentenced · $47.1M stolen
Heartland Tri-State Bank CEO sentenced after pig butchering loss, 2024
Delivered through: SMS phishing (smishing), Fake apps, Social media ads and posts
How official datasets classify it
- FBI IC3
- Investment
- FTC
- Miscellaneous Investments & Investment Advice
- UK Finance
- Investment scam
- Scamwatch
- Investment scams
Questions
- What is pig butchering?
- It is a crypto investment scam that starts with a friendly or romantic contact. The scammer builds trust, then directs the victim to a fake trading platform that shows invented profits.
- Why can't I withdraw my money from the trading platform?
- Because the platform is controlled by the scammers and the balance is not real. Demands for taxes or fees before a withdrawal are the final stage of the scam, so do not pay them.
- Can I get my money back?
- Recovery is difficult because crypto transfers are hard to reverse, but contact your bank or exchange and report to law enforcement quickly. Never pay anyone who promises to recover the funds for a fee.