What are the red flags of this scam?

Contact began with an unexpected wrong-number or social media message • Relationship develops unusually fast and they are always available • They introduce a 'can't-miss' investment platform you've never heard of • Platform shows impressive profits but withdrawals are blocked or taxed • They encourage you to borrow or invest retirement savings

What should I do if this happened to me?

Stop all contact with the person immediately • Do not send any more money — previous deposits are likely unrecoverable • Report to your bank's fraud team right away; some wire transfers can be recalled within hours • Seek support — this scam involves emotional manipulation; it is not your fault • Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

CRITICAL investment Last reported: Oct 26, 2026 Share

Wrong-number text turns into a crypto investment opportunity

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. A stranger sends a friendly wrong-number text. Over weeks they build romantic rapport, then introduce a fake crypto trading platform showing huge returns. All deposited funds are eventually stolen.

A stranger sends a friendly wrong-number text. Over weeks they build romantic rapport, then introduce a fake crypto trading platform showing huge returns. All deposited funds are eventually stolen.

Also known as: pig butchering scam, sha zhu pan, crypto romance scam, wrong number scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Stop all contact with the person immediately
2 Do not send any more money — previous deposits are likely unrecoverable
3 Report to your bank's fraud team right away; some wire transfers can be recalled within hours
4 Seek support — this scam involves emotional manipulation; it is not your fault
5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

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Red flags

⚠ Contact began with an unexpected wrong-number or social media message
⚠ Relationship develops unusually fast and they are always available
⚠ They introduce a 'can't-miss' investment platform you've never heard of
⚠ Platform shows impressive profits but withdrawals are blocked or taxed
⚠ They encourage you to borrow or invest retirement savings

Known variants

Scammer recruits victims via a WhatsApp or Facebook 'investment group' populated with paid accomplices sharing fabricated profit screenshots. The victim is then guided one-on-one onto the same fake trading platform.

Last seen: 8/12/2026
Scammer instructs victim to 'connect their crypto wallet' to the fake trading platform. The wallet-connection transaction secretly grants the attacker unlimited ERC-20 token spending permission via approve(). The platform continues showing assets as present; days or weeks later the attacker drains the wallet silently via transferFrom().

Last seen: 8/12/2026
When banks block a wire transfer to the fake trading platform, the scammer instructs the victim to withdraw cash instead. A courier — verified by a shared U.S. dollar bill serial number or code word — arrives at the victim's home or a public location to collect the funds. FBI IC3 PSA260615, Jun 2026.

Last seen: 8/12/2026
Scam compound workers use real-time AI face-swap during live video calls, defeating the 'verify identity via video call' check. Specialist 'AI model' workers handle ~100 such calls per day. DOJ charged Ghana-based ring that used AI video to defraud 130+ US victims of $15M+ (Jun 2026).

Last seen: 8/12/2026
Scammers deploy entire AI-generated fake dating apps — not just fake profiles — that mimic Tinder, Bumble, or Hinge. Every profile, match, and chat inside the app is AI-generated. After building rapport, the fake match introduces the pig-butchering crypto platform. FBI Oct 2026.

Last seen: 10/2/2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Known variants

Sources