Pig butchering scams: how the fake-friend crypto investment con works, and how to stop it

It often starts with a text that looks like a mistake: “Hi, is this Anna? Are we still on for golf on Sunday?” You reply to say they’ve got the wrong number. They apologize, they’re friendly, and the conversation keeps going. Weeks later, your new friend mentions how well they’re doing with crypto, and offers to show you how.

That’s the opening of a pig butchering scam. US regulators call it one of the most damaging forms of crypto fraud, and it’s built to look like anything but a scam until it’s too late.

Where the name comes from

In September 2023, the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert about the scam. The name comes from the practice of fattening a hog before slaughter: scammers call victims “pigs”, use fake identities and elaborate stories to “fatten” them into believing in a trusted relationship, then “butcher” them once their money has been taken.

FinCEN notes that these scams are largely run by criminal organizations based in Southeast Asia, and that many of the people sending the messages are themselves victims of human trafficking, forced to work in scam compounds.

How the scam works, step by step

FinCEN’s alert describes a clear sequence. Knowing it is the best protection, because each stage feels harmless on its own.

1. The first contact

The scammer reaches out by text message, social media, a dating site or a professional networking site, often pretending to have the wrong number or to be reconnecting with an old friend. Their profile usually shows wealth and an enviable lifestyle.

2. Building trust

There’s no request for money yet. The scammer talks to you regularly, sometimes for weeks or months, building a friendship or a romance. They may say they can’t meet in person because they work abroad or travel a lot.

3. The investment pitch

Once you trust them, they introduce a “lucrative” crypto opportunity and direct you to an investment website or app that looks legitimate but is controlled by the scammers. They may walk you through buying crypto on a real exchange, ask for remote access to your device “to help”, or tell you to use a crypto ATM. Then they tell you to send the crypto to the platform.

4. Fake profits

The platform shows extraordinary returns, all invented. To build confidence, you may even be allowed to withdraw a small amount. Then comes the push to invest more, sometimes with a deadline. FinCEN reports victims cashing in retirement accounts, taking out home equity loans or second mortgages, and bringing in friends and family.

5. The “taxes” to withdraw

When you try to take your money out, or your payments slow down, the pressure increases. You’re told there are losses to cover, or that you must pay “taxes” or “early withdrawal fees” before you can withdraw. Once you can’t or won’t pay any more, the scammer disappears, and so does everything you sent.

How big the problem is

In its 2025 report, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recorded 61,559 complaints of cryptocurrency investment fraud, with $7.228 billion in reported losses: the largest single source of losses reported by Americans that year. People aged 60 and over reported $2.76 billion of it. Pig butchering is one of the main forms of this fraud.

In Canada, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre highlights fake crypto investment platforms as a common method in investment fraud, which caused $351 million in reported losses in 2025.

Who loses the most

The IC3’s 2025 figures for crypto investment fraud show losses rising steeply with age:

The FBI also describes a variant using investment clubs on messaging apps, where supposed industry insiders offer trading guidance; it recorded about 1,600 such complaints in 2025, with $160 million in losses. See crypto scams targeting older adults.

If the FBI contacts you: Operation Level Up

Many victims don’t realize they’re being scammed until it’s too late. Since January 2024, the FBI, with the US Secret Service, has run Operation Level Up, which uses complaint data to identify victims of crypto investment fraud and warn them. According to the IC3’s 2025 report:

• In 2025 it notified 3,780 victims, and 78% of them didn’t know they were being scammed.
• It estimated savings to those victims of about $226 million in 2025.
• Since its launch it has notified more than 8,000 victims, with $500 million in savings.

A warning like this is a gift: if someone tells you your investment platform is a scam, stop and check before sending anything more. But be careful, because scammers also impersonate the FBI and the IC3. A genuine law enforcement contact will never ask you for money. If in doubt, contact the FBI yourself through its official website.

Going after the scam compounds

The IC3 report also describes the Scam Center Strike Force, led by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with the Justice Department, the FBI and the Secret Service. It targets the worst scam compounds in Southeast Asia, including leaders linked to Chinese organized crime operating in Cambodia, Laos and Burma, and works to seize the US-based internet services and social media accounts the scammers use. It partners with the State Department, Treasury’s OFAC and the Commerce Department.

Warning signs

Adapted from FinCEN’s red flags and the FTC’s advice, be suspicious if:

• A stranger contacts you “by mistake” and keeps the conversation going.
• Someone you’ve only met online talks about their trading success and offers to teach you.
• You’re told to use a specific platform or app you hadn’t heard of, especially one with poor spelling, odd reviews or a web address that’s slightly off.
• You’re asked to give remote access to your phone or computer, or to buy crypto at a crypto ATM and send it to an address they give you.
• Profits look too good and too steady to be true.
• There’s pressure to invest more or by a deadline.
• You’re asked to pay taxes, fees or penalties before you can withdraw.
• They ask you to keep it secret from family or your bank.

The FTC’s rule is simple: never send money or gifts to someone you haven’t met in person.

How to protect yourself

1. Don’t move a new online friendship into money. However long you’ve been talking, a request to invest is the moment to stop.
2. Check the platform independently. Look it up on your country’s official register, not through a link they send you. See how to check if an exchange is registered.
3. Do a reverse image search of their photos, as the FTC suggests. Stolen pictures are common.
4. Talk to someone you trust before sending anything. Scammers rely on isolation.
5. Test a withdrawal before investing more, and treat any “fee to withdraw” as the end of the conversation.

For how fake apps and cloned sites work, see fake crypto apps and phishing.

If it’s happening to you

• Stop sending money, including “taxes”, “fees” or “unlock” payments.
• Save everything: messages, profile names, website addresses, wallet addresses and transaction IDs.
• Contact your bank and the exchange you used to buy the crypto, straight away.
• Report it:
  • US: the FBI’s IC3 at ic3.gov, and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Also report the profile to the app or site where you met.
  • UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland): Report Fraud, the national service that replaced Action Fraud.
  • Canada: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and your local police.
• Beware of recovery scams. After a loss, victims are often contacted by people promising to get the money back for a fee. See crypto scams and where to report them.

Being scammed isn’t a sign of foolishness. These operations are run by organized groups, with scripts and months of patience. Reporting it helps protect the next person.