What is a pig-butchering scam?

A pig-butchering scam is an investment fraud that runs for weeks or months. A stranger makes contact online, builds a friendship or romance, and then introduces a fake crypto investment. The FBI calls it cryptocurrency investment fraud and avoids the nickname, which it regards as demeaning to victims.

Where does the name come from?

The term was coined by the scammers themselves. The US Treasury's financial crimes unit, FinCEN, explained in a September 2023 alert that it refers to fattening an animal before slaughter.

Victims come from every background, including finance and technology. The people running these schemes work from scripts refined over thousands of attempts. Being deceived by one is not a sign of carelessness.

How does the scam unfold?

FinCEN and the FBI describe the same sequence:

1. Contact. A message arrives by text, social media, a dating app or a professional networking site. It often looks like a wrong number or a friendly introduction.
2. Trust. The stranger chats daily for weeks. They ask for nothing.
3. The pitch. They mention making money in crypto and offer to show how. The victim is sent a link to a trading website or app.
4. False profits. The platform is controlled by the scammers. It shows large gains, and a small early withdrawal may be allowed to prove it is real.
5. The loss. Encouraged by the gains, the victim deposits more. When they try to cash out, the platform demands taxes or fees first. Eventually the contact vanishes and the site goes dark.

Who is behind it?

The US Justice Department attributes much of this fraud to Chinese organized crime groups operating from compounds in Southeast Asia, including along the Burma-Thailand border and in Cambodia. It says many of the people sending the messages are trafficking victims held against their will and forced to work under threat of violence. In November 2025, the department launched a Scam Center Strike Force to target these operations.

How big is the problem, and where is it reported?

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, IC3, said in April 2026 that it recorded 61,559 complaints of crypto investment fraud in 2025, with reported losses of about $7.2 billion. That was a quarter higher than in 2024.

The warning signs listed by FinCEN include an unsolicited contact who steers conversation toward investing, a platform reachable only through a link they supply, pressure to deposit by a deadline, and demands for fees before a withdrawal.

In the United States, reports go to the FBI at ic3.gov and to the Federal Trade Commission. The FBI also runs Operation Level Up, which contacts people it believes are being defrauded. By April 2026, it had notified more than 8,000 victims. Next steps are in what to do if you are scammed. Related schemes are covered in the most common crypto scams and phishing and wallet drainers.