Crypto glossary
Pig butchering scam
A pig butchering scam is a fraud in which a stranger builds trust over weeks, then lures the victim into depositing more and more on a fake crypto platform.
The name translates a Chinese expression about fattening a pig before slaughter. The scammer starts with a wrong-number message, a dating app match or a social media contact and spends weeks building a friendship or romance. Eventually the conversation turns to investing, and the victim is guided to buy crypto on a real exchange and send it to a trading site or app that the scammers control.
The fake platform shows impressive gains, and early small withdrawals may even work, encouraging larger deposits. When the victim tries to withdraw everything, new "taxes" or fees are demanded until contact stops. Many of these operations run from scam compounds in Southeast Asia, where trafficked workers are forced to message victims, and the proceeds are often laundered through USDT on Tron.
Warning signs include an online contact who never meets in person, unsolicited investment tips, platforms that are not licensed and any fee required to release funds. Losses are rarely recovered.
Example
After two months of daily chats, a new online friend persuades a victim to try a trading app; a first deposit of 1,000 dollars shows a 30% gain, the victim adds 80,000 dollars and the account is then frozen.
Related terms
Latest articles on Pig butchering scam
- Man Faces Charges Over Alleged $16M Crypto Pig Butchering Scheme
- U.S. Seizes $61M USDT Tied to Pig Butchering Scam
- Cyvers Report: Pig Butchering Scams Surge, Targeting Major Crypto Platforms
- Pig Butchering Scams Hit All-Time High, According to Chainalysis
- Crypto Frauds Surge 40% in 2024: $3.6 Billion Lost to ‘Pig Butchering
