A pig butchering, romance, or relationship scam is long-term fraud in which scammers build trust and form relationships with victims with the goal of convincing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency or other fraudulent schemes.
Scammers often use wrong number text messages, social media, and dating apps to find their victims. These relationships are often cultivated over several months before a scammer brings up the topic of money or investments. Scammers will often use fake investment platforms that victims must log into. These fraudulent investment platforms show fake profits to victims.
Warning Signs
- Unsolicited contact: Often via social media, dating apps, or wrong number text messages.
- Quick emotional connection: The scammer rushes to build trust, affection, or even romance.
- Unverifiable platforms: Unfamiliar or suspicious trading apps or websites.
- Offer of unlikely returns: Scams often promise lucrative returns. These returns are sometimes measured in hours or days rather than months or years.
- Profits guaranteed: Claims that a return or investment is guaranteed. No investment is guaranteed, and legitimate investment professionals will not make these statements.
- Secrecy: Pressure to keep transaction confidential from friends and family.
- Dishonesty: Pressure to lie to your financial institution about why you are withdrawing, wiring, or otherwise transferring your personal funds.
- Early Testing: You are allowed to withdraw small profits early in the fraud to build trust in the scam so that the victim will invest more money. Later, you will be unable to withdraw any further funds.
- Excuses to avoid video calls or meeting in person: Scammers often avoid showing their real identity.
- Request for unusual payment methods: Scammer requests payment in cryptocurrency, cash, gift cards, gold, or other untraceable means.
- Problems withdrawing funds: When you try to withdraw money, you are met with delays, fees, or silence.
How to Tell If Your Online Relationship Is a Scam
- Were you contacted out of the blue on social media, dating app, or text message?
- Did a stranger quickly try to build a personal, emotional, or romantic connection?
- Were you encouraged to invest in cryptocurrency?
- Have you been directed to an unfamiliar or unregulated investment platform or app?
- Have you been promised unusually high or guaranteed returns?
- Does your contact avoid video calls or meeting in person?
- Are you being pressured to invest more money or to act quickly?
- Have you been unable to withdraw your money or told you need to pay fees first?
- Are you being discouraged from telling your friends or family about the investment?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be a victim of a scam.
What to Do If You Lost Money
- Stop all communication: Block the scammer across all messaging apps, social media accounts, and phone numbers.
- Contact your financial institution or crypto exchange: Notify your financial institutions right away to secure your accounts, freeze transfers, and report fraudulent activity.
- Save all evidence: Keep unedited screenshots of conversations, profile details, crypto wallet addresses, transaction hashes, and website URLs.
- Beware of recovery scams: Ignore messages or emails from anyone claiming they can hack the scammer or recover your lost money for a fee. Government agencies like DFI, police, and legitimate investigators will never ask for payment to investigate a fraud case.
- File a Report: File a report with the agencies below.
How to Report Pig Butchering Scams
- Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI): Report cryptocurrency, investment, or financial fraud directly to DFI online at dfi.wa.gov/file-complaint or call 1-877-746-4334.
- North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA): If you live outside Washington State or need to find securities regulators in other U.S. states, Canadian provinces, or Mexico, use the interactive directory at NASAA Contact Your Regulator.
- Washington State Attorney General's Office: File a consumer protection complaint online at atg.wa.gov or call 1-800-551-4636.
- Local Law Enforcement: File a police report with your local police department or county sheriff's office.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): File a report for online crypto and pig butchering scams at ic3.gov.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Report fraud and fake investment schemes at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): Report unregistered trading platforms and futures/crypto fraud at cftc.gov/complaint.