In this lesson
- learn the pig butchering playbook step by step, from the first "wrong number" text to the "tax" for withdrawals
- find out who is really typing on the other side – and why many of them are victims too
- get the red flags that give the scam away long before you lose money
What is pig butchering? It is a long con in which a stranger – usually met through a "wrong number" message, a dating app or social media – spends weeks building a friendship or romance and then guides you to a fake crypto trading platform. The profits on the screen are invented; once you try to withdraw, you are asked for "taxes" and "fees" until you stop paying. According to the FBI, crypto investment fraud, most of it of this kind, cost people in the US alone about 7.2 billion dollars in 2025.
The name comes from the Chinese shā zhū pán – "pig-butchering plate". The scammers call their victims "pigs": first you fatten them with attention, then you slaughter them. Charming people, clearly.
How does a pig butchering scam work?#
A pig butchering scam is not one trick but a script that the scammers literally follow, sometimes printed out. It usually goes like this:
- The "accidental" contact. "Hi Anna, are we still on for dinner?" You reply that it is the wrong number. They apologise charmingly – and keep chatting. Other variants start on dating apps, LinkedIn or in WhatsApp and Telegram "investment groups".
- Weeks of grooming. Good-morning messages, photos of food and travel, interest in your family. The profile is attractive, successful and somehow never free for a video call.
- The casual hint. Your new friend mentions that an uncle or a mentor has a "proven" crypto strategy. No pressure – they just want to share their luck.
- The fake platform. You buy crypto on a real exchange and send it to an address on their "trading platform" – a polished website or an app. The balance grows beautifully, often 20–50 % in days.
- The small withdrawal that works. You test it with 200 dollars and they arrive. Now you trust it – and that is exactly why it was allowed.
- The big deposit. Savings, a loan, sometimes a mortgage. "The VIP window closes on Friday."
- The trap shuts. When you want to withdraw, the account is "frozen": pay 20 % tax, a "verification deposit" or an anti-money-laundering fee first. Each payment brings a new fee – until you stop paying.
- The second wave. "Recovery experts" contact you and offer to get your money back – for a fee. It is the same scam in another costume.
Who is on the other side of the chat?#
Often not the person in the photos, and often not a free person at all. Large pig butchering operations run from guarded scam compounds in Southeast Asia – Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos. According to a 2023 report by the UN human rights office, hundreds of thousands of people were held in such compounds and forced to scam, many of them lured by fake job adverts and then held under threat of violence.
The best-known case so far is the Prince Group from Cambodia. On 14 October 2025 US prosecutors unsealed an indictment against its founder Chen Zhi, charging him with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. According to the prosecutors, the group ran forced-labour compounds where trafficked workers carried out pig butchering scams. At the same time the US filed a civil forfeiture complaint for about 127,271 bitcoins – roughly 15 billion dollars at the time, the largest forfeiture action in the history of the US Justice Department. The US and the UK sanctioned the group the same day.
In January 2026 Cambodia arrested Chen Zhi and extradited him to China. As of October 2026 the charges in the US are allegations; he has not been convicted there.
Timeline#
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2020–2021 | Scam compounds in Southeast Asia grow fast; pig butchering spreads from Asia worldwide |
| August 2023 | UN human rights office: hundreds of thousands of people forced to scam in the region |
| 14 October 2025 | US indicts Chen Zhi of the Prince Group and seeks about 127,271 BTC; US–UK sanctions |
| January 2026 | Chen Zhi is arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China |
| April 2026 | FBI report: 11.4 billion dollars of crypto-related losses in the US in 2025 |
How big is it?#
- FBI (2025): Americans reported about 11.4 billion dollars of crypto-related losses, of which about 7.2 billion came from crypto investment fraud. People over 60 lost about 4.4 billion in crypto.
- US Treasury: Americans lost at least 10 billion dollars to scam operations based in Southeast Asia in 2024 alone.
- Chainalysis: crypto scams worldwide took an estimated 17 billion dollars in 2025.
And those are only the reported cases. Many victims never report out of shame – which the scammers count on.
Warning signs you could have seen#
- A stranger who will not let go after a "wrong number". Real people say sorry and disappear.
- No live video call – or only a short, blurry one. Today's face filters and AI make even that weak proof.
- Romance or friendship that turns to investing. Love does not come with a referral link.
- A platform you cannot find in any regulator's register – and that only they recommended.
- Profits that are too smooth. Real markets go down too.
- "Pay tax first, then withdraw." Real taxes are paid to the state, not to the platform holding your money.
- Urgency and secrecy: "do not tell your family, they will not understand".
Never pay to get your own money out
If a platform asks for a fee, tax or deposit before it lets you withdraw, the money is almost certainly gone. Every further payment is lost too. Stop, save the chats and transaction IDs, and report it to the police and to the exchange you sent the crypto from.
What to do step by step – and how to recognise the "recovery experts" who come next – is in the lesson Scammed in crypto? What to do now.
Common myths#
- "It only happens to lonely old people." Victims include young professionals, engineers and bankers. The script targets trust, not age.
- "I tested a withdrawal, so it is real." The first small withdrawal is part of the plan.
- "The app is in the App Store, so it is legit." Fake apps get through store checks – more in the lesson on fake exchanges and apps.
Summary
- Pig butchering = weeks of friendship or romance, then a fake trading platform.
- The profits are only numbers on the scammer's screen; withdrawals trigger endless "fees".
- Many of the people typing are trafficking victims in compounds in Southeast Asia.
- The US case against Chen Zhi of the Prince Group came with a forfeiture claim for about 127,271 BTC.
- Rule: a stranger + investing + a platform you did not find yourself = stop.
More scam types in a nutshell are in the lesson The most common scams.
Sources#
- FBI IC3: Internet Crime Report 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- US Department of Justice: Chairman of Prince Group indicted (14 October 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- US Treasury: US and UK target cybercriminal networks in Southeast Asia (14 October 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- CNN: Alleged scam kingpin extradited from Cambodia to China (7 January 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Chainalysis: 2026 Crypto Crime Report – scams (opens in a new tab)