Investment and crypto scams: "pig butchering", fake trading apps and WhatsApp groups

Investment scams are not the most common fraud, but they take by far the most money. In 2025, consumers reported over $7.9 billion lost to investment scams, approximately half of all fraud losses reported to the FTC, with an average individual loss of over $10,000 (FTC testimony, March 2026).

Sources: FTC, FTC Data Book 2024, 2025 IC3 Annual Report. The FBI calls cryptocurrency investment fraud the highest source of financial losses to Americans in 2025, and says these scams are largely run by organised criminal groups based in Southeast Asia, often using trafficked workers as forced labour.

The script varies, but the stages are consistent across FTC and FBI reports.

1. First contact. A “wrong number” text, a match on a dating app, a stranger on social media, an ad for an investing course, or an invitation to a WhatsApp or Telegram group full of apparently successful investors. In 2025, $1.1 billion of investment scam losses started on social media (FTC Data Spotlight, April 2026).
2. Trust. Weeks of friendly chat, sometimes romance. The person seems wealthy, patient and knowledgeable. They never ask for money directly.
3. The platform. They show you how they trade, on a website or app that looks like a real exchange. You open an account and send a small amount, usually in crypto.
4. Fake profits. Your balance grows quickly. You may be allowed to withdraw a small sum, which convinces you it is real. You invest more, borrow, or move retirement savings.
5. The trap. When you try to take out a large amount, there is a fee, a “tax”, a verification deposit or a frozen account. Each payment leads to another. Then the site and the person vanish.

Scammers call this approach “pig butchering”: they fatten the victim with trust before taking everything. If the first contact was romantic, read our romance scams guide as well.

• Someone you have never met in person is guiding your investment decisions.
• Guaranteed or very high returns with little or no risk.
• You must use a specific website or app they recommend, not a brokerage you found yourself.
• You can only deposit in crypto, or are told to buy crypto at a regular exchange and send it on.
• You must pay a fee, tax or deposit before you can withdraw your own money.
• Pressure to invest more before an opportunity “closes”, and to keep it secret from family.
• Endorsements from celebrities or deepfake videos. Ads and videos of famous investors are easy to fake.

1. Stop sending money, whatever you are told about fees or frozen balances. Further payments will not release anything.
2. Contact the exchange you used to buy or send crypto (for example the US exchange where you bought it) and report the destination wallet as fraud. If you paid by bank transfer or wire, call your bank immediately and ask for a recall.
3. Report to the FBI at IC3.gov, including wallet addresses, transaction IDs, website addresses and usernames. Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.
4. Secure your accounts. If you shared ID documents to “verify” the account, go to IdentityTheft.gov and freeze your credit.
5. Talk to someone. These scams are built to isolate people, and the losses are often devastating. Telling a family member or friend is a real step, not a weakness.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.