What Is ‘Pig Butchering’ and How To Protect Your Investments From Such Scams

Have you ever heard of romance-based scams?

Yes, it has happened to Shreya Datta, who was working in a Philadelphia-based tech company. It started as a so-called relationship through the Hinge dating app, and later, she got scammed for $450K in a cryptocurrency investment scheme.

This method of luring people is commonly called the Pig Butchering Scam. In this article, we are going to dive deep into what is Pig Butchering Scam and provide tips on how to protect yourself from such frauds.

What Is Pig Butchering?

“Pig butchering” is a scam where fraudsters first build emotional trust with victims and then manipulate them to send cryptocurrency to fake wallets or fraudulent trading platforms they control. The term “Pig Butchering” basically comes from a farmer saying fattening up the pig before slaughtering. In this case, the scammers fatten up their victims before making them a victim.

How Does Pig Butchering Work?

All pig-butchering scams share four phases: target selection, trust-building, asset extraction, and exit.

Hunting the Pig

A Pig Butchering scammer will reach out through social media such as dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, or famous instant messaging applications. The first step is basically catfishing, where the criminal pretends to be someone successful (and sometimes good-looking).

Through the scammer’s persistent posturing, flaunting their (fake) wealth from business and multiple investments, including cryptocurrencies, and generally a grand lifestyle, a potential victim will be reeled in.

Raising the Pig

Unlike other scams that ask for large sums of money upfront, Pig Butchering requires scammers to work slowly to convince their victims to move their holdings away from legitimate exchanges and onto fake websites owned by the scammer.

This step is deemed the most crucial part of the scam, as it requires the scammer to gain complete trust from the victim—that is why, more often than not, Pig Butchering would take weeks or months to accomplish.

Scammers would communicate with their victims habitually, just like how a trusty friend or a loving partner would.

Once they see that their flattery has reeled in the victim, they will start claiming that they have received great financial returns from a cryptocurrency trading or mining platform. The criminal will convince their victim to co-invest with them or teach them how to trade successfully.

Killing the Pig

Once the victim has been “fattened up,” the scammer will prepare for the butchering.

In some cases, the criminal will direct their victims to a fraudulent website posing as a legitimate cryptocurrency platform. They will then instruct the clueless victim to deposit funds into an account controlled by the scammer.

Some victims receive a small sum claimed to be “returns” on their investments to convince them to invest even larger amounts of funds. If the victim also fails to meet the minimum, the scammer or the platform will “loan” them money.

After the victim has deposited a significant amount of funds, the fake platform will halt withdrawals. The victim will then be prompted to pay extra verification and service fees or taxes before their funds will be “released” to extort money.

Overkill

Bold scammers, after fooling their victims, might go greedy. If the scam took place through Tinder Swindler (i.e., romantically linking with the victim), they could even threaten the victim to publicize sensitive information. In this way, the fraudster can gain even more funds.

Once the scamming process is done, the scammer would block the victim and the fake cryptocurrency website or platform. The victim would not only suffer from a financial loss but also undergo mental trauma.

Analytics of Pig-butchering Scams

According to a report by Chainalysis, cryptocurrency scams accounted for over $10 billion in 2024, and this number is expected to rise as more scam addresses are being identified. Among these, pig-butchering scams accounted for 33.2% of total crypto scam revenue, with the top spot going to high-yield investment scams (HYIS), which made up 50.2% of the total.

Furthermore, the revenue of pig butchering scams grew by 40%, and the number of deposits increased by 210% year-on-year, while the deposit amount had decreased by 55% YoY. 

According to the data released by the Federal Trade Commission, American citizens lost $5.7 billion to investment scams in 2024, an increase of 24% from 2023. Furthermore, 79% of those who reported the scam lost over $9,000 on average, and of these scams, the most common one is the pig butchering scam. 

How To Spot Butchering Scams

Random Texts or Emails

One of the most common scam techniques is to encourage victims to engage in any type of conversation. Once an innocent user has engaged, the scammer’s communication will be more frequent. Talks will start on mundane things and will later escalate to more serious topics, including investment opportunities.

Refusal to Talk Over Phone/Video Chat

Like any other scammers, Pig Butchers will come up with every possible excuse to avoid phone and video calls. They might say their English is bad or any other stories they could fabricate to avoid such scenarios.

Conversations Shift to Investment Opportunities

A sign that a user may be talking to a Pig Butchering scammer is when the conversations quickly shift from daily routines to cryptocurrency investments that promise high returns. The criminal may also boast about properties and status symbols to “prove” that they have reaped the benefits of investing. At times, the scammers would share trade secrets that guarantee “risk-free” earnings.

The fraudster could ask the victim about their crypto trading experience and even offer to coach them. The scammer may reassure the victim that they should not try to invest if they are uncomfortable or to start small. If the investment turned fruitful, the victim could invest further with a motive to bag big profits.

Scammer Insists on Investment Winnings

In scams, the person would often remind potential victims about huge winnings and what they could do with the huge sum. If a victim is hesitant about investing huge amounts of money, the scammer will convince them that more can be raked if the initial investment is hefty. This popular scam technique takes advantage of one’s innate greed and pushes victims to invest more than they are comfortable losing.

Real Life Incidents

Here are some of the real-life incidents where people lost their savings because of the false prospect that scammers made them believe. 

1. Divorced Mothers

Divorced mother Rebecca Holloway lost over $100K in life savings to a big butchering scam. The scammer impersonated a French entrepreneur with the name of Fred and exploited her weakness as a single woman. Through careful planning containing both deceit and romance, he drained all her money. Another single mother named Kate also experienced the same fate as Rebecca, losing $80K after falling victim to a cryptocurrency scam. 

2. CEO Ruins U.S Bank 

Shan Hanes, CEO of the Heartland Tri-State Bank, situated in Kansas, USA, ruined his bank after using customer funds for a crypto investment. The Ex-CEO invested the funds in a Hong Kong-based crypto investment and later needed additional funds to get the money out. Because of this, he approached a wealthy client of the bank and told a story and stated that he needed a $12M loan, for which the client declined. Later, the bank failed, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took over the bank. It was only later revealed that he might be a victim of a pig butchering scam. Not only did Shan lose the bank but was also sent to jail for embezzling money.  

Government Actions Against Pig Butchering Scams

United States

As per an FBI report in 2023, Americans lost over $5.6B in cryptocurrency fraud. It’s a massive 45% year-to-year increase, and the complaints regarding crypto frauds reached 69,000 in the same year. 

In order to safeguard victims of such scams, the FBI took a proactive approach by establishing Operation Level Up. The operation began in January 2024 with the support of FBI agents and the United States Secret Service (USSS). It was meant to identify victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud (pig butchering) and inform them of the scam. Other than the pig butchering scam, they also identified victims of other scams, such as work-from-home scams. These scams are mostly carried out by organized crime groups operating in South America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.   

With the help of advanced investigation techniques, agents were able to identify victims during the early stages of the scam and helped them save their life savings. The FBI has informed 4,323 victims of pig butchering scams as of January 2025, of which 76% were not aware they were being scammed. Furthermore, the initiative has helped prevent victims’ savings of about $285 million from being scammed.  

India

In order to fight against the rising crypto scams, especially pig butchering scams, India has partnered up with tech giants like Google and Meta. Based on the Ministry of Home Affairs 2024 annual report, the partnership aims to fight against financial fraud, targeting vulnerable groups like housewives, students, unemployed youths, and people who are struggling with financial hardship.

Scammers make use of Google’s advertisement services and Meta’s sponsored ads to fool unsuspecting victims. In order to counter the scams, India’s Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), along with the platforms, has established protocols that can flag suspicious activities, block ads, and remove fraudulent content.   

How To Protect Yourself From Pig Butchering Scam

The United States Secret Service (USSS) issued an advisory on how to protect yourself against investment frauds and pig butchering scams. 

• Always be wary of unrequested investment opportunities offered through email, social media, phones, or in person. 
• Always be cautious of people you meet through dating apps and social media offering unsolicited financial advice.  
• Do not talk about your current financial status to unknown and untrusted people.
• Do not provide your banking information, social security number, copies of your identification, such as passports, or any other sensitive information to anyone online or to a site you do not know is legitimate.
• If a trading site is promoting profits that are too good to be true, like having huge profits with little to no risk, question its legitimacy.  

Conclusion

In an interview, Jan Santiago said that victims should not be ashamed of falling for pig butchering scams as scammers are masters at manipulation. It is quite easy to fall prey to such a scam if you haven’t even heard about it. 

Veteran cryptocurrency traders and reputable industry watchers have always warned people that when engaging with this digital asset, it’s important to remember that high opportunity comes with an equal amount of risks. High returns never come risk-free.

But in case you or someone you know has been affected by this type of scam, you can file a report with the Global Anti-Scam Organization and FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Reference Sites
https://www.secretservice.gov/investigations/investmentfraud-pigbutchering
https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/operation-level-up-how-the-fbi-is-saving-victims-from-cryptocurrency-investment-fraud?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/15/investment-fraud-how-to-protect-yourself.html
https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/tips-for-spotting-and-avoiding-pig-butchering-scams
https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/02/fbi-notified-over-4300-victims-pig-butchering-crypto-scams-past-year/402988/
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/25/pig-butchering-crypto-scam-costing-investors-millions.html
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/indian-software-professional-in-us-loses-her-rs-4-crore-savings-to-fake-love-what-is-pig-butchering-scam/articleshow/107996936.cms