A crypto romance scam (also called “pig butchering”) mixes an online relationship with a fake investment. The “partner” builds trust for weeks or months, then mentions they’ve been making money on a crypto platform and offers to teach your parent. The FBI’s IC3 annual report covers cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scams in detail (IC3 2024 report).
For a full explanation of how the scam works, read crypto romance scams (pig butchering). This guide is for family members who are worried.
Warning signs to watch for
- A new partner met online, through a wrong-number text, social media or a dating app, who is never available to meet or video call (FTC).
- Talk of a “guaranteed” crypto opportunity, an uncle who trades, or insider tips.
- Your parent installing a new trading app or visiting an unfamiliar website.
- Small early “profits” they were allowed to withdraw, then pressure to invest much more.
- Requests to pay a “tax”, “fee” or “unlock charge” before they can withdraw.
- Secrecy, or the partner telling them family “won’t understand”.
Unlock the full guide with ImposterWatch Personal, US$9/mo
Members read every guide in full, plus get breach and dark web alerts for up to three email addresses, an AI-powered romance scam check every month, and account recovery help.
Get Personal, US$9/mo Already a member? Log in
How to start the conversation
- Ask, don’t accuse. “That sounds interesting. Can you show me the app?”
- Ask about withdrawals. “Have you tried taking out a large amount? What happened?”
- Do a check together. Search the platform name plus “scam”, and run a reverse image search on the partner’s photos.
- Avoid shame. These scams are run by professionals. Embarrassment keeps people paying.
If money has already gone
- Stop all further payments, especially “fees” to release funds.
- Contact the bank or exchange used to send the money.
- Write down wallet addresses, transaction IDs, website addresses and usernames.
- Beware anyone offering to recover the money for a fee (FTC).
- See sent money to a romance scammer?
Where to report
- US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the FBI’s IC3.
- Australia: Scamwatch.
- UK: Action Fraud (or Report Fraud in Scotland via Police Scotland 101).
- Canada: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
- New Zealand: Netsafe.
In Australia, see also Scamwatch on romance scams.
Questions
They can see their balance growing. Isn’t that proof?
No. In these scams the “platform” is often fake and the balance is just numbers on a screen. The test is whether money can be withdrawn without paying new fees.
Someone offered to recover the money for a fee. Should we pay?
No. The FTC warns that refund and recovery scams target people who have already lost money.
My parent is angry with me for raising it. What now?
That’s common. Keep the door open, avoid ridicule, and suggest a neutral check (like a reverse image search) you can do together.
Get an outside opinion on the profile
Take the free 10-question romance red-flag check together. ImposterWatch Personal (US$9/month) includes one AI-powered romance scam check a month, plus breach alerts and account recovery help.
Take the free checkGet Personal, US$9/moMore guides
- How to check if an email is really from a company
- How to tell if a call is a scam
- Romance scam warning signs
- How to reverse image search a dating profile
- Military romance scams
- Crypto romance scams (pig butchering)
- Sent money to a romance scammer? What to do now
- Is my online match real? How to check
- Has my email been in a data breach?
- “I have your password” sextortion email scam
- How to tell if an email is a scam
- How to check if a website is fake
- Grandparent and family emergency scams
- Clicked a toll text link? What to do now
- All guides
General information only, not legal or financial advice. ImposterWatch is operated by Cloud Investments FZE (UAE) and is not a background check or private investigator service.