DateableHow "pig butchering" romance investment scams work
A match mentions trading crypto, walks you on to a platform, lets you withdraw a small profit, then pushes bigger deposits until you are locked out.
In a pig butchering scam, someone you met only online builds your trust through romance, then convinces you to invest money on a fake platform. Once they have you invested, they push you to add more and more money, then vanish when you try to withdraw.
How the scam starts
You match with someone. They seem genuine at first, and their profile looks real. Over days or weeks, the conversation feels promising. Then they mention their own financial success: they trade crypto, or they have just made money on some investment. It sounds casual, almost like they are thinking out loud.
This is where the scam begins. They are not thinking out loud. They are setting a trap. They have already made the decision that you are going to be their target.
The walk to the platform
Your new match suggests you try investing too. They say it is simple, safe, and profitable. They send you a link to what looks like a real trading platform. You sign up. It looks professional: real-looking charts, a working app, your login credentials all set up.
The platform is fake. It exists only to show you what you want to see. 1
Somewhere in the early conversations, they move the chat off Dateable or whatever dating app you met on. They ask for WhatsApp or WeChat. This is a red flag on its own, but inside a romance that feels real, it reads as intimacy: they want a private space with you. 2
The bait: early profits
On the fake platform, you deposit money. Not a lot: maybe a few hundred. You watch it sit there for a bit. Then, to your surprise, it grows. Your small deposit just earned you a profit. You can withdraw it. You do. The money comes back to your real bank account.
Now your guard is down. The platform is real. The profits are real. Your match was telling the truth.
None of this is real. The early profits are a lure. They come from money you already deposited or from other victims. The scammer is using the oldest trick in the book: the near-win. You won money once, so you will risk more money to win again.
The push for more
Your match now encourages you to invest more. They have seen your success, and they know the platform works. The real money is made at scale. Just put in more, and the profits will compound. They walk you through the steps. They check in to see how you are doing. They send screenshots of their own growing returns.
You invest more. Then more. Your match keeps pace, telling you when to invest, what to invest in, when the market will swing. They act like they are protecting your money.
2 You are encouraged to invest a little, then more; when you try to withdraw or stop, the scammer disappears and the platform locks you out.
The lockout
At some point, your account on the fake platform will not let you withdraw. An error message appears. Or the platform blocks your access entirely. You still see your balance there: your deposits plus all those profits. But you cannot touch it.
Your match reappears with a solution. The platform needs more money from you to process the withdrawal: a fee, or tax, or insurance. Pay this, and you get your money back. You have already invested so much that the small fee seems worth it.
You send the fee. It disappears. Your original balance on the fake platform is gone. Your match is gone. The platform stops responding.
Why this hits you harder than other scams
Most scams are just money. Pig butchering scams are money plus heartbreak. A real person seemed to care about you. They were patient. They remembered details you told them. They were building something. Then they discarded you for money.
The financial loss is bad. The emotional loss often hurts more.
Investment scams on social media are huge
Pig butchering is one shape this scam takes. Romance plus investment fraud is a growing problem. 3 Investment scams caused $1.1 billion of social media scam losses in 2025.
Nearly 60 percent of people who reported losing money to a romance scam in 2025 said it started on social media. The platforms where you meet people are where the scams are. 3
How to defend yourself
One rule stops most of these scams before they start: never take investment direction from anyone you met online. Not crypto, not stocks, not forex, not property deals. If someone you have not met in person is telling you how to invest, that person is either running a scam or leading you toward one.
A few more signs to watch for:
- They move the conversation to WhatsApp or WeChat quickly.
- They talk about investment or trading very early on.
- They have an excuse not to meet or video call.
- They push you to invest more after a small early profit.
- They send you screenshots of their own returns.
If someone you are messaging online starts talking about investment opportunities, especially crypto, stop. That message alone is reason enough to end the conversation and block the person.
If it happens to you
Stop sending money. Block the person and the platform. Contact your bank straight away and tell them you were scammed. 2
Recovering the money is unlikely. Crypto transactions especially cannot be reversed. But your bank needs to know, and they may be able to freeze some of it if you tell them fast enough.
Report the scam to your local authorities. In Australia, report to Scamwatch and ReportCyber. In Canada, report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. In the US, report to the Federal Trade Commission. Reporting does not get your money back, but it helps authorities track patterns and warn others.
If you have given them personal information, contact IDCARE (1800 595 160 in Australia) to check your identity has not been compromised.
You are not alone. Romance investment scams happen to people who are careful, intelligent and thoughtful. The scammers are professionals. They know how to make the lie feel real. What happened was not your fault. What matters now is that you spot the next one before it costs you. For more on managing money in dating, read how to talk about it early. And remember: on Dateable, dating safety is part of the design.
Sources
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (2026). Relationship and romance.
- Scamwatch (ACCC) (2026). Investment scams.
- Federal Trade Commission (2026). New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams.
