Pig Butchering Scam
Americans lost $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, according to the FTC.
Quick Answer
The pig butchering scam is a long-term fraud combining elements of romance and investment scams where criminals stole over $4.57 billion in 2023 by building trust before convincing victims to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.
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How It Works
1
Scammers initiate contact with a potential victim through an unsolicited text message, dating app, or social media platform, often pretending it was a wrong number or a chance encounter to start a conversation.
2
The fraudster spends weeks or months building an emotional or romantic connection with the victim, a process called "fattening the pig." They create a fake persona, often as a successful investor, to gain the victim's trust and confidence.
3
The scammer introduces a supposedly lucrative cryptocurrency investment opportunity, showing the victim a fake app or website where small initial investments appear to generate huge returns, encouraging them to invest larger and larger amounts.
4
When the victim attempts to withdraw their funds, the scammer demands fees or taxes to release the money. Ultimately, the scammer cuts off all contact and disappears with the victim's money, a stage known as the "slaughter."
Red Flags
- Receiving an unsolicited message from a stranger who quickly tries to build a friendship or romance.
- The person insists on moving the conversation from a dating or social media app to an encrypted platform like WhatsApp or Telegram.
- They flaunt a lavish lifestyle and talk about huge, guaranteed profits from cryptocurrency or forex trading.
- They consistently refuse to meet in person or have a video call, often providing elaborate excuses.
- You are pressured to act quickly on an investment and are guided to a specific, unfamiliar trading website or app.
- When you try to withdraw money, you are told you must first pay unexpected taxes or fees.
What to Do If Targeted
- Immediately stop all communication with the scammer and block their accounts.
- Do not send any more money; additional payments for supposed taxes or fees will not release your funds.
- Contact your bank or financial institution immediately to report the fraud and see if any transactions can be reversed.
- Take screenshots of all conversations, transactions, wallet addresses, and the fraudulent platform to use as evidence.
- File a detailed report with law enforcement, including your local police department and federal agencies.
- Beware of recovery scams where fraudsters re-target victims by posing as services that can get your money back for a fee.
How to Report It
- FTC — File a fraud report with the Federal Trade Commission to help them track scammers and prevent others from becoming victims.
- FBI IC3 — Report the incident to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is the primary federal intake point for cyber-enabled fraud.
- FCC — File a complaint about phone scams, robocalls, or unwanted calls with the Federal Communications Commission.
- AARP Fraud Helpline — Call 877-908-3360 for free support from trained fraud specialists. Available to anyone, not just AARP members.
Key Statistics
- Losses from investment scams, primarily pig butchering, increased 38% to $4.57 billion in 2023. — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2023 Report
- Worldwide losses from pig butchering scams likely exceed $75 billion. — Finance Magnates
- In 2023, the IC3 received 880,418 complaints with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion across all cybercrime types. — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2023 Report
- Pig butchering revenue grew nearly 40% year-over-year in 2024, while the number of deposits into these scams grew by 210%. — Chainalysis 2025 Report
- Investment-related scams resulted in reported losses of $5.7 billion in 2024, with a median loss of over $9,000 per victim. — FTC 2025
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Frequently Asked Questions
A pig butchering scam is a type of long-term financial fraud where scammers build a fake online relationship with a victim to gain their trust. After establishing this connection, the fraudster convinces the victim to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency platform, ultimately stealing all the invested funds.
The term 'pig butchering' is a translation from a Chinese phrase. It refers to the scammer's process of 'fattening up' the victim (the pig) over time by building trust and encouraging them to make increasingly larger investments, before the 'slaughter,' which is when the scammer disappears with all the money.
Losses from investment fraud, which is dominated by pig butchering scams, exceeded $4.57 billion in 2023, a 38% increase from the previous year. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reports this as the costliest type of crime it tracks.
If you are a victim, immediately cease all contact with the scammer and stop sending money. Contact your bank to report the fraud, gather all evidence like chat logs and transaction records, and file a report with your local police and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
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