A pig-butchering scam is a long-term fraud in which scammers build trust with a victim, then persuade them to transfer money, usually through a fake investment or cryptocurrency opportunity.

These scams can run for weeks or months. The scammer typically makes first contact through social media, a dating app, a messaging platform, or another online channel, then gradually steers the conversation toward money and investing.

STB Investigation reviews cases for people who think they’ve been caught up in a pig-butchering scam. We go through what you have, help you organise your evidence, and explain your investigation and reporting options.

What Is a Pig-Butchering Scam?

The name describes how victims are “fattened up”: gradually cultivated and persuaded to send larger and larger amounts of money.

It often starts with a harmless-seeming conversation. Over time, the person introduces an investment opportunity, trading platform, cryptocurrency service, or other financial proposal.

The victim may see apparent profits on an online platform or account. When they try to withdraw, they hit new demands for fees, taxes, deposits, verification payments, or other charges.

The details vary, and not every investment loss or withdrawal dispute is a pig-butchering scam. We look at the evidence before drawing any conclusion.

Warning Signs

1. Unexpected online contact: Someone you don’t know reaches out through social media, a dating app, a messaging platform, or another online service.
2. Fast-growing trust: They work to build a close personal or professional bond before mentioning money.
3. Investment encouragement: They push you to invest in cryptocurrency, forex, stocks, or another financial product.
4. Unfamiliar trading platforms: They send you to a website or app that claims to offer investing or trading.
5. Apparent profits: The platform shows big profits or balances that you can’t independently verify.
6. Withdrawal restrictions: You can’t withdraw without paying more charges or making further deposits.
7. Growing pressure to pay: You’re repeatedly urged to deposit more to meet “account requirements” or increase returns.

How We Work

Depending on your case, we may:

1. Review the communications

We go through the messages, emails, dating profiles, social media accounts, photos, usernames, and other communications you give us.

2. Check the platform

We look into the investment or trading platform involved, including its website details, company information, and claimed regulatory status.

3. Review your transactions

We examine bank statements, payment confirmations, cryptocurrency transactions, wallet addresses, and transaction IDs.

4. Analyse the blockchain

Where cryptocurrency is involved, we examine blockchain data to trace transaction activity and find connections between wallet addresses.

5. Build a timeline

We put your communications, payments, and account activity in order to show how the fraud developed.

6. Assess your next steps

We explain which options for reporting, disputes, regulatory complaints, or legal action may apply to your case.

If You’ve Been Affected

If you think you’ve been targeted by a pig-butchering scam, keep as much evidence as you can.

Useful items include:

• Messages and emails
• Dating or social media profiles
• Usernames and account names
• Phone numbers and email addresses
• Website addresses
• Screenshots of the trading platform
• Account statements
• Bank statements and payment confirmations
• Cryptocurrency wallet addresses
• Blockchain transaction IDs or hashes
• Invoices and documents from the platform
• Records of any extra payments you were asked to make
• Names or identities used by the people involved

If you recently sent money, contact your bank, payment provider, cryptocurrency exchange, or other financial institution as soon as possible.

Do not make further payments because someone says another deposit, tax, fee, or verification payment is needed before you can withdraw your funds.

Can I Get My Money Back?

It depends on your case.

The main factors are how you paid, how long ago it happened, where the money went, whether the receiving institution can identify or freeze the transaction, what transaction records exist, and whether institutions or authorities can act.

An investigation can help establish what happened and point to options for reporting or disputing the payments. But recovery is not guaranteed, and STB Investigation cannot promise you’ll get your money back.

Beware of Secondary Recovery Scams

Victims of pig-butchering scams are often targeted again by people claiming they can recover the lost funds.

Be wary of anyone who:

• Guarantees your money will be recovered.
• Demands a large upfront payment in return for guaranteed results.
• Claims special access to banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, regulators, or law-enforcement systems.
• Claims they can hack a trading platform or reverse a cryptocurrency transaction.
• Contacts you out of the blue after learning about your investment loss.
• Asks for your banking passwords, private keys, recovery phrases, or other sensitive credentials.

Never give your cryptocurrency private key or recovery phrase to anyone who says they’ll investigate or recover your funds.

Why STB Investigation?

• Every case is treated on its own facts: We review your circumstances and evidence.
• We rely on documents: We focus on communications, transaction records, account information, and other evidence.
• A clear timeline: We organise your information into a chronology that shows what happened and when.
• Straight answers: We explain what we find, what the limits are, and what you can do next.
• Your case shapes the work: We adjust our approach to the type of scam and the evidence you have.

Request an Initial Case Assessment

If you think you’ve been a victim of a pig-butchering scam, we can review what you have and explain your investigation and reporting options.

Contact STB Investigation to request an initial assessment.

An initial assessment does not guarantee recovery, compensation, identification of a suspect, or any particular outcome.