The Snowballing Scam That’s Out to Slaughter Your Savings
October 7, 2025
“Long time, no see!” “I saw your profile and want to get to know you.” “I’m thinking of you.” Those are the kind of seemingly innocent comments that can mark the beginning of an investment scam called “pig butchering,” where the victims (or “pigs”) are slowly fattened up with compliments and a false sense of closeness. Once trust is established, scammers convince them to make large cryptocurrency investments on fraudulent platforms, eventually bleeding them dry (“butchering”). These swindles are growing at a frightening pace, with over $75.3 billion stolen globally. In fact, the FBI reports that investment scams resulted in the highest financial losses of all crimes, with cryptocurrency-related fraud (including pig butchering) accounting for 90%.
John Griffin and Kevin Mei, How Do Crypto Flows Finance Slavery? The Economics of Pig Butchering, on February 29, 2024.
Tale of a scam: How the pig gets butchered
How it begins:
An email or text—or, in the case of a romantically linked financial fraud, a message on a social media site or dating app. Sometimes, the scammer will pretend to have reached out accidentally, thinking he (or she) is contacting someone else. Regardless of the form the outreach takes, the goal is the same: to strike up a conversation that draws in someone who’s unaware of the scammer’s intentions to steal.
The story of Sharon.* Sharon is a 70-year-old widow who received the following email: “Hi Sharon, It’s been so long! I’m not sure if you remember me since it’s been 10 years since we’ve seen each other, but I’m your second cousin. I was thinking about you and wanted to reconnect. Please reply here or text me at this phone number on Whatsapp. Hope to hear from you soon, Kristen.” Sharon only vaguely recalls meeting any extended family from years ago but decides it would be nice to reconnect.
“Kristen” is a scammer who has never met Sharon, but by reaching out in a vague manner, hinting at common family dynamics, she makes her feel like she could be a long-lost relative.
A relationship blooms:
Slowly but surely, the scammer creates an artificial sense of intimacy, building confidence by pretending to share more in the guise of being a forgotten friend, long-lost relative, romantic interest, or even just a friendly stranger. The scammer appears sincere and warm, with a sham identity that includes attractive fake or stolen photos, along with an impressive job title and luxurious lifestyle. He shares vague, outwardly personal details and chats about common hobbies, experiences, etc. If the victim presses to have a video or phone chat, the scammer may make excuses, griping about bad connections or broken cameras and pressing to take the conversation “offline” to a platform like WhatsApp or WeChat, where messages are encrypted, or may comply and mask their identity using AI deepfakes.
While Kristen doesn’t remember specific details about Sharon’s extended family, she says she recalls meeting Sharon’s mom who then introduced them. Sharon grows comfortable and starts sharing about her life, including her love of gardening, while Kristen writes about her successful wealth management career. Kristen shows interest in Sharon’s gardening, so Sharon offers to teach her some tips over a phone call. Kristen says it’s a great idea, but tells Sharon she can’t call or have a live chat because her phone has audio issues.
Kristen is starting to create a relationship, but it’s built completely on lies. She offers only general details that could apply to almost anyone. Kristen will never agree to speak live out of concern it could provide clues to the scam she’s working toward and doesn’t want it to unravel.
The plot thickens:
Because of their supposedly close relationship, the scammer offers to let the victim in on an incredible (usually cryptocurrency) investment opportunity that has made him rich and where big returns are certain. He may even offer to train the victim on how to create on online account, convert cash into cryptocurrency, and then trade on a high-tech financial platform or app with sleek dashboards. He makes the victim promise not to share this investment with anyone because he wants to keep the victim isolated from objective or professional opinions.
Kristen “confides” in Sharon about the cryptocurrency investment that has created her vast fortune. She shares the investment platform or app and even offers to walk her step-by-step on how to invest—as long as she promises not to tell anyone.
Meanwhile, Kristen has planted the seed to get Sharon interested in investing. The sleek, high-tech website appears legitimate but is actually fake. Kristen insists Sharon can’t discuss the investment with anyone else under the guise of it being secretive, when it’s really because Kristen doesn’t want an objective third party to shed light on the scam and talk Sharon out of investing.
The hammer falls:
The money starts rolling in—at first, small deposits are solicited to limit suspicion, but simulated reports show big yet phony profits on a made-up platform that mimics a legitimate one. Scammers encourage victims to capitalize even more on this allegedly lucrative opportunity, pressing them to keep making investments in increasing amounts, with the promise of getting rich quick.
Sharon is tempted by the promise of a windfall and Kristen emphasizes she’s making a smart decision. She agrees to invest $5,000. Kristen keeps Sharon updated on the nature of her investments, tells her how well her money is doing, and stresses the importance of investing more. Reassured by the good news, Sharon invests another $5,000, again and again.
The website guidance and her trust in Kristen put Sharon at ease. Kristen’s goal is to induce Sharon to invest as much as possible so she encourages large deposits, under the guise it will give Sharon the largest return on her money.
Going in for the kill:
Meanwhile, the money goes nowhere but into the scammer’s pocket. Victims have wiped out their savings or even taken out loans to keep making investments—and if they try to withdraw their money, the scammer says that would require a big fee. When the deposits eventually stop—either because the well ran dry or the victim got suspicious—the scammer shuts down the investment website or app and disappears—along with any chance of recovering the funds.
After a while, Sharon—who’d been living on Social Security and a pension—starts to feel apprehensive about having so much of her savings in a cryptocurrency investment. She decides she’s made a very healthy return on her investment and reaches out to Kristen to let her know she’s going to call it quits.
Kristen will continue to encourage Sharon to keep investing for as long as possible. But when Sharon makes the decision that she doesn’t want to invest any more, her efforts to reach Kristen or redeem her holdings on the platform are unsuccessful. The platform has been shut down and Kristen has vanished completely, with Sharon’s savings having been led to the slaughter.
* A composite example of hypothetical subjects, purely for illustrative purposes.
Protect yourself from becoming a victim
Ignore unsolicited outreach from strangers. The best response is to delete or mark the communication as “spam.” Scammers buy large lists of phone numbers and send fake messages, hoping someone will take the bait. Even if you think it’s an honest mistake and are tempted to say it’s a wrong number, your reply will let a scammer know your email or phone number is legitimate and he will keep trying to engage you.
Always verify before you trust. Guard your personal financial information and independently double-check the identity of the source who’s asking you to transact business online. Be wary of investments that seem too good to be true because they usually are. To find out if an individual or firm is registered with the Securities Exchange Commission, go to Investor.Gov.
Be wary of requests to keep secrets. Scammers benefit from others’ trust or willingness to not question what they’re told. If anyone asks you to keep an investment opportunity to yourself, he is trying to benefit by keeping you isolated and in the dark. Discuss any monetary transactions with your banker or financial advisor before withdrawing funds.
Steps to take if you’ve been victimized
1. Notify your bank or investment company immediately. If you’re an M&T customer, we’re eager to help.
2. File a report with the police. Supply as much documentation (receipts, emails, text screenshots, etc.) as possible.
3. Tell the feds. File a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) @ www.ic3.gov. And report it to cryptofraud@usss.dhs.gov so the Secret Service will refer you to the field office that can take immediate action.
4. Get support. The cost of having been victimized is psychological as well as financial. Find a support or victim recovery group at AARP or FINRA.
Stay informed. Stay cautious. For more information, www.mtb.com/scams