Pig Butchering Scam: What It Is and What to Do If You Invested

Has someone you met online or by text got you “investing” in crypto, and now you’re told to pay a tax or fee before you can withdraw? Stop there. That’s the last stage of a pig butchering scam, and the FBI says victims can’t get their money back even if they pay. Here’s how the scheme works, the signs, what to do today, and where to find help.

What is a pig butchering scam?

Pig butchering is a long con. A stranger builds a friendship or romance with you, then steers you into a fake cryptocurrency investment and takes everything you put in. The name loosely translates the Chinese term “sha zhu pan,” and it comes from the scammers themselves: they “fatten up” victims with a fake relationship, then “slaughter” them by taking their money (FinCEN, CFTC). If they asked for money for an emergency, a plane ticket or fees instead of an investment, see what to do after a romance scam.

Some officials avoid the name, which securities regulators call “distasteful.” They say “relationship investment scams,” and the FBI says “cryptocurrency investment fraud.”

• Who’s behind it: mostly organized crime groups based in Southeast Asia, using victims of human trafficking as forced labor. The FBI calls these “sophisticated long-term scams using psychological manipulation” (2025 IC3 report).
• How big it is: crypto investment fraud was the biggest source of losses reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025: $7.2 billion, from 61,559 complaints. Every age group reported losses; people 60 and older reported the most, $2.76 billion (2025 IC3 report).

How the pig butchering scheme works

1. A friendly first message. Often a text that seems meant for someone else, or a message on social media, a dating app or a professional networking site (FinCEN). See our guide to wrong number text scams.
2. Weeks of “fattening.” Flattery, a life story that mirrors yours, romantic interest and excuses for never meeting (FBI IC3, CFTC). The chat soon moves to another app, sometimes from a different number (FBI IC3).
3. The pitch. They, or a relative, are experts in trading crypto, gold or currencies (CFTC). You may be added to a group chat where most “happy clients” are scammers too (FBI IC3).
4. A fake platform. You buy crypto at a real exchange, then send it to a website or app the scammers control (FBI IC3). It can look professional and may even be in a well-known app store (SEC). Some victims are told to wire money, use a crypto ATM or hand cash to a courier (FinCEN, FBI IC3).
5. Fake profits. Your balance soars. You may be allowed to withdraw a small amount so it feels real (FinCEN), and encouraged to invest more and more (FBI IC3), sometimes with a fake “loan” for trading (SEC).
6. Pressure. Deadlines, and nudges to empty retirement savings or borrow against your home (FinCEN, CFTC).
7. The “butchering.” When you try to cash out, your account is frozen until you pay “taxes” or “fees” (FBI IC3). Once you can’t or won’t pay more, the scammers vanish with everything (FinCEN).

Signs you’re in a pig butchering scam right now

• You met the person online or by an unexpected text, and they brought up investing. The FBI says that’s “likely an investment fraud scheme.”
• You’ve never met in person or on a live video chat (CFTC). Even video can be faked with AI (FBI IC3).
• You’re told to pay a person or an unrelated business, or to say a wire is for something else, like furniture (SEC).
• You’re rushed to invest before a deadline (FinCEN), or offered a “loan” to invest more (SEC).
• They get angry or make threats when you mention withdrawing (CFTC).

Asked to pay before you can withdraw?

What you’re told	What the FBI and regulators say
“Pay the tax, then withdraw.”	“Victims are unable to get their money back, even if they pay the imposed fees or taxes” (FBI IC3).
“Your account is flagged. A courier will pick up cash.”	Couriers are part of the scam, and the fake taxes and penalties start over (FBI IC3).
“Repay the loan we gave you first.”	Fake loans are another way to take more money (SEC).
“You had losses. Deposit more to cover them.”	Fake losses are used to squeeze out final payments (FinCEN).

What to do today if you invested

1. Stop sending money. Don’t pay any tax or fee to withdraw (FBI IC3). Victims often end up paying more to unlock their funds than they ever deposited (FBI IC3).

2. Stop contact, quietly. Stop communicating with the person right away (FTC), but don’t announce that you’re reporting them. In one example the FBI gives, a victim who told scammers they’d file an FBI report was then contacted by a fake FBI agent (FBI IC3).

3. Save the evidence first. Screenshot everything before you block or delete anything. The FBI asks for (FBI IC3, FBI IC3):

   • wallet addresses, transaction IDs (hashes), amounts, type of crypto, dates and times;
   • bank account numbers and names you were told to pay;
   • the scammer’s names, phone numbers and profiles, and your chats;
   • the websites or apps you used, which exchanges you used, and a timeline.

   Keep the originals: IC3 doesn’t accept attachments, but investigators may ask for them (IC3).

4. Contact your bank or exchange. Tell the crypto exchange you used that the transfer was fraud and ask it to reverse it (FTC). Use its official website or phone number, never one someone sends you (FBI IC3). If you wired money, call your bank and ask it to recall the funds: “time is of the essence” (2025 IC3 report). See also Zelle and bank transfers and Bitcoin ATM scams.

5. Report it (see below), even if you don’t have transaction details (FBI IC3).

6. Lock down your accounts. Scammers sometimes get remote access to a victim’s device to set up accounts (FinCEN). If that happened, or you shared a password or code, update your security software, run a scan, change passwords and turn on two-factor authentication (FTC). More: I let a scammer into my computer.

7. Warn anyone you brought in, or who brought you in. Scammers may encourage victims to bring in friends and family (FinCEN), and whoever introduced you may be a victim too (FBI IC3).

Can you get your money back?

Often not. It’s better to hear that from official sources than from a “recovery” pitch.

• Crypto is hard to recover. Recovering money lost to fraud “is rare,” and harder once it’s converted to crypto (CFTC). Money wired abroad or sent as crypto is likely gone for good, the SEC warns (SEC). Still, it’s “always worth asking” the company you used (FTC).
• It can be traced. Crypto moves on public ledgers called blockchains, so law enforcement can follow it, though crypto sent to exchanges overseas can be much harder to follow (FBI IC3).
• Speed helps with wires. In 2025, FBI requests through IC3’s fund-freezing process reversed some wires and returned the money to victims (2025 IC3 report).
• Seizures happen, slowly. The Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force, created in November 2025 (DOJ), says it has restrained over $938 million in crypto from these schemes and aims to return stolen funds to victims. It asks victims to report at IC3 (DOJ, September 2026). In forfeiture cases, claims to the money must be resolved in court before it can be returned to victims (DOJ, 2024).
• No private shortcut. Exchanges freeze accounts only through their own processes or legal process, and private “recovery” companies can’t issue seizure orders (FBI IC3).

How to report a pig butchering scam

1. FBI’s IC3: file at IC3.gov. Type the address yourself: “sponsored” search results are usually imitators (FBI IC3). Save a copy before you close the page. IC3 doesn’t investigate and you won’t hear back, so if it’s urgent, also contact local police (IC3). More: what happens after you file.
2. FTC: report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
3. Investment regulators: for crypto scams, the FTC also lists the SEC and the CFTC (FTC).
4. Where you met: notify the dating site, social network or app (FTC).
5. 60 or older, or helping someone who is? Call the National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311). A case manager helps you report the crime (OVC), including your IC3 complaint (FBI IC3).

The report-a-scam tool and the scam recovery checklist help you keep track.

Watch for the follow-up scam

In 2025, IC3 received 10,516 recovery scam complaints with $1.4 billion in losses, some of it from the earlier scams (2025 IC3 report). Often the same gang runs both (CFTC). Be on guard if someone:

• offers to trace or recover your crypto for a fee. Fake recovery firms take an up-front fee, then vanish or ask for more (FBI IC3).
• says they’re a lawyer working with the government. “There are no law firms which are officially authorized partners of US Government agencies.” Fakes may know your exact payment amounts and dates (FBI IC3).
• claims to be from IC3 or the FBI and wants money. IC3 never contacts people directly and never asks for payment to recover funds (FBI IC3). Law enforcement doesn’t charge victims to investigate (FBI IC3).
• offers you a job moving money. Receiving and forwarding funds for strangers is money laundering that could land you in jail (CFTC).

The real FBI does contact some victims to warn them, through Operation Level Up (2025 IC3 report). But law enforcement will never call or text you to demand payment or ask for sensitive information (FBI IC3, September 2026). Unsure? Call your local FBI field office (FBI IC3).

Where to get support

These scams can cause “significant financial loss and emotional distress,” the FBI says, and they’re built to fool people. In 2025, 78% of the victims the FBI’s Level Up team reached didn’t know they were being scammed, and 38 were referred to a victim specialist for suicide intervention (2025 IC3 report).

• Talk to someone you trust (FTC).
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (OVC) for confidential support, 24 hours a day (NIMH).
• VictimConnect: call or text 855-4-VICTIM (855-484-2846) for anonymous referrals and support for crime victims (OVC).
• National Elder Fraud Hotline: 833-FRAUD-11, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, in English, Spanish and other languages (OVC).
• Being threatened? Some scammers threaten to share photos or messages (CFTC); see what to do about sextortion. If you’re in immediate danger, call 911 (IC3).

What varies

• How you paid. Crypto transfers can’t be reversed (FBI IC3); bank wires can sometimes be recalled if you act fast (2025 IC3 report).
• Your bank or exchange. Policies differ, so ask what help yours offers (2025 IC3 report, FBI IC3).
• Where the money went. Crypto sent overseas is harder for U.S. law enforcement to follow (FBI IC3).
• Taxes. Cashing out retirement accounts early can leave you with a large IRS tax bill, the CFTC warns (CFTC).