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Laptop showing a trading chart
Dating scam guide

Pig butchering

Also known as: romance baiting, cryptocurrency investment fraud, sha zhu pan

How it works

A friendly or flirtatious contact – often on a dating app, social media or a 'wrong number' text – builds a relationship and casually mentions success trading crypto, gold or forex as a 'side job'. They coach the victim to open an account on a professional-looking but fake trading platform or app, which shows growing fake profits and may offer loans to encourage larger investments. The victim is encouraged to invest more, sometimes taking loans or cashing out retirement savings. When they try to withdraw, they are told to pay 'taxes' or 'fees' first, then the scammers disappear. The FBI says these scams are largely run by organised crime groups in Southeast Asia using trafficked people as forced labour.

Who is targetedAdults of all ages with savings; initial asks can be small (AUD $300-$800 in the AFP case) before escalating. In FBI outreach, 78% of notified victims did not realise they were being scammed.
How fast it movesDays to months. The AFP-recovered script ran a scripted seven-day conversation before the investment pitch; larger cases run for months with repeated 'top-ups'.
Typical routeDating app or social media / 'wrong number' text -> WhatsApp or Telegram -> legitimate crypto exchange -> fake trading website or app controlled by scammers

Red flags

  • A new match brings up how much money they make trading crypto, gold or forex
  • They offer to teach you or have an 'uncle/mentor' with insider knowledge
  • They send a link to a trading platform or app you have never heard of
  • The platform shows fast, steady profits but withdrawals need a 'tax', 'fee' or 'deposit' first
  • They pressure you to invest more, borrow, or use retirement savings
  • They claim they were hurt by an ex who wanted their money (a scripted backstory)

Check your match against all 44 red flags

Recent cases

Real cases reported by courts, police, regulators and the press. People facing pending charges are presumed innocent, and private victims are not named.

2025-10-14 · Cambodia / USA (EDNY) · ~$15 billion in bitcoin seized
US prosecutors unsealed an indictment against the chairman of Cambodia's Prince Group for directing forced-labour scam compounds running crypto investment ('pig butchering') fraud, and filed to forfeit about 127,271 bitcoin (~$15 billion), the largest forfeiture action in DOJ history. Workers held against their will used 'phone farms' to contact victims via messaging and social media.
2026-02-10 · California, USA · $73.6 million
A core member of a global syndicate that used romance-baiting and fake trading platforms was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in US federal prison after cutting off his ankle monitor and fleeing in late 2025. Victim funds were routed through shell companies and converted to Tether.
2025-02-14 · Philippines / Australia
The Australian Federal Police published a scam script recovered from a Manila scam compound that targeted thousands of Australians on dating apps. Scammers posed as kind-hearted Filipino women heartbroken by an ex, introduced crypto trading as a 'side job' over about a week, and pushed initial investments of AUD $300-$800. More than 5,000 potential Australian victims were warned by text in January 2025.

The numbers

  • Cryptocurrency investment fraud was the largest source of losses reported to the FBI: $7.2 billion. Contact often starts via text, social media, ads or dating apps before moving to a messaging platform. (2025) source
  • Investment fraud overall: 72,984 complaints and $8.65 billion in losses reported to IC3. (2025) source
  • FTC: $1.1 billion was reported lost to investment scams that started on social media – more than half of all social-media scam losses. (2025) source
  • FBI Operation Level Up notified 3,780 crypto-investment-fraud victims in 2025; 78% did not know they were being scammed. (2025) source
  • UK Finance: investment fraud losses rose 40% to £221.5 million across 14,893 cases. (2025) source
  • Australia: investment scam losses of $837.7 million across all reporting agencies. (2025) source

If it is happening to you

  1. Do not deposit more money, and do not pay any 'tax', 'fee' or 'unlock' charge to withdraw – it is part of the scam.
  2. Stop contact with the match and anyone they introduced (mentors, 'customer service').
  3. Contact your bank and the legitimate crypto exchange you used immediately; record wallet addresses, transaction IDs and website URLs.
  4. Report to the authorities below. Expect follow-up 'recovery' offers to be scams too.

Where to report

United Statesreportfraud.ftc.gov – FTC – ReportFraud.ftc.govic3.gov – FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – type www.ic3.gov directly; IC3 never contacts victims by phone, social media or chat
United Kingdomreportfraud.police.uk – Report Fraud (replaced Action Fraud) – reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040stopscamsuk.org.uk/159 – Call 159 to reach your bank's fraud team safely (covers >99% of UK retail current accounts)
Canadareportcyberandfraud.canada.ca – Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre – reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca or 1-888-495-8501, and your local police
Australiascamwatch.gov.au – Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au); ReportCyber via cyber.gov.au; IDCARE 1800 595 160 for identity recovery

Related scams

Woman reading a message on her phone in bed

Romance scams

A scammer builds an online relationship using a fake or borrowed identity, often over weeks or months, and invests heavily in attention and affection.

Young man looking at his phone in the dark

Sextortion and image blackmail

The criminal poses as an attractive person (often a young woman) on a dating app, social media or game, flirts quickly, and persuades the target to exchange nude images or join an intimate video call that is secretly recorded.

Person wearing a white mask

Catfishing and impersonation

Scammers build profiles from photos stolen from real people – often soldiers, professionals or celebrities – and invent a life that explains why they cannot meet: deployed overseas, working on an oil rig, with an international organisation, or too famous.

Sources

Research compiled 28 September 2026.