It starts with a message that looks like a wrong number, a “match” on a dating app, or a friendly comment on social media. Weeks later, that trusted person shows you how well they’re doing with their investments and helps you open an account. It’s one of the types of fraud that costs victims the most money, and the people who fall for it aren’t naive: they’re up against a script designed by professionals.
Short answer
The crypto romance scam (also called pig butchering) starts with an online friendship or relationship, moves on to an invitation to invest on a platform that shows fake profits, and ends when the victim tries to withdraw and is told to pay fees or taxes. If this is happening to you: don’t send any more money, cut off contact, save the evidence, and report it to IC3.
How it works, stage by stage
The CFTC, the U.S. Forex and futures regulator, describes these as “relationship investment scams” and explains their stages:
- Contact. Through dating apps, social media, messaging apps, or a “wrong number” text.
- Trust. Frequent messages, interest in your life, sometimes promises of a future together.
- The opportunity. The person says they make money with cryptocurrency, metals, or currencies and offers to teach you.
- The platform. They point you to an investment app or website, where you convert your money into cryptocurrency and send it.
- The profits. Your balance grows, and sometimes they let you make a small withdrawal. That gets you to deposit larger amounts.
- The block. When you try to withdraw, they deny the withdrawal or demand that you pay fees or taxes to withdraw.
Warning signs
- Someone you only know online talks to you about investing, even though you’ve never met in person or on video.
- They walk you step by step through buying cryptocurrency and sending it to a platform you had never heard of.
- The platform doesn’t appear in any official registry and has a recent domain, or one that looks like a well-known company’s.
- They insist that you not tell your family or your bank, or they tell you what to say if the bank asks.
- To withdraw, fees, taxes, penalties, or “verifications” suddenly appear that you have to pay first.
Many victims don’t know they are victims
In February 2025, the FBI reported that its Operation Level Up initiative had notified more than 4,300 victims of these scams and that about 76% didn’t know they were being scammed. If an FBI agent contacts you to warn you, verify it through official channels: the FBI will not ask you for money.
What to do if it’s happening to you
- Don’t send any more money, even if they tell you it’s the last payment or that you’ll lose everything.
- Stop responding, and don’t tell that person you’ve figured out the scam: they may delete chats or move funds.
- Save the evidence: complete chats, profiles, the site’s address, receipts, and the hashes for each transfer. Follow our evidence guide.
- Alert your bank and the exchange you sent the cryptocurrency from, with the destination addresses.
- Report it to IC3 and to the CFTC. We explain where to report and what to include.
If it’s a family member
The CFTC recommends talking openly about these scams and watching for signs such as a new relationship that exists only online or a sudden interest in investing in cryptocurrency. Listen without judging: shame is what most often keeps people from asking for help in time.
Then come the “recovery” offers
People who have already lost money often get messages from supposed hackers, lawyers, or agencies promising to recover it in exchange for a payment. That’s the recovery scam. The FBI recommends not paying anyone who promises to recover lost funds.
Can the money be recovered?
It depends on where the funds ended up and how much time has passed. Crypto tracing shows whether the money reached an identifiable exchange, where the authorities or an attorney can make formal requests. No one can guarantee the outcome.
Official sources
- CFTC: online relationship investment scams (#DatingOrDefrauding) — stages, signs, and recommendations
- FBI · IC3: alert on cryptocurrency investment fraud (2023) — fees and taxes to withdraw; don’t pay to recover funds
- Nextgov: the FBI notified more than 4,300 victims (February 2025) — Operation Level Up
- FBI · IC3: guidance for victims of cryptocurrency scams — what to include in your report
Has something similar happened to you? Request a free evaluation. We’ll respond in writing, without judgment, and without asking for your passwords or any upfront payment.
