TLDR
- Maryland woman lost over $3 million in a cryptocurrency “pig butchering” scam
- Scammer contacted her through a Korean messaging app, built trust over weeks
- Fake investment platform showed 80% profits to lure more investments
- FBI warns victims are often contacted again by fake “recovery companies”
- FBI has notified 4,323 victims of crypto investment fraud, saving an estimated $285 million
A Maryland woman has lost over $3 million in what the FBI calls a “pig butchering” cryptocurrency scam. The scam began when she received an unsolicited message through a Korean messaging app. The scammer spent weeks building trust before asking her to invest in cryptocurrency.
“I put in over $3 million into this, and it showed that I was making almost maybe like 80% profit,” the victim told CBS News Baltimore. Her identity was protected in the report due to her request for privacy.
The victim explained that the investment portfolio looked legitimate. She was first directed to the actual Coinbase website before being taken to other sites. This is a common tactic used by scammers to build credibility.
“When she got a lot more of my trust, more money would be poured in,” the victim said. “Unless you know what you’re doing, you’re not going to be able to tell—especially if you’ve never done crypto before.”
The woman admitted she saw red flags but ignored them. She had already invested so much that she became desperate for the investment to work out.
How “Pig Butchering” Works
The term “pig butchering” describes how scammers “fatten” their victims by building trust and encouraging larger investments before “slaughtering” them by taking all their money. FBI Special Agent Sarah Lewis explained the process in detail.
“They find the victims: They fatten the pig by increasing the amount of money that the victim is depositing into this fraudulent account that they believe they’re investing in, and then the slaughter happens when the scammers disappear,” Lewis said.
The FBI reports that these scammers often allow victims to withdraw small amounts initially. This builds confidence and encourages larger deposits.
Many victims are coached on what to say if law enforcement gets involved. When Agent Lewis first contacted the Maryland victim, she initially denied being scammed and used specific language that Lewis recognized as coming from the scammer.
Secondary Scams Target Victims Again
What makes these scams even more harmful is that victims are often targeted a second time. FBI Special Agent Jeremy Capello warned that the same scammers often return pretending to be recovery companies.
“They will have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to this scam, and then they are contacted again by these same scammers pretending to be recovery companies,” Capello explained. These fake recovery services promise to help retrieve lost funds for a fee.
The FBI cautions that the websites created by these criminals are very convincing. “You would never know it’s a fake website,” Capello noted.
Most victims never recover their money. The FBI urges victims to report incidents quickly to give authorities the best chance of recovering any funds.
The scam has had tragic consequences in some cases. In another Maryland case, a man in his 80s took his own life after losing his life savings to scammers who contacted him through Facebook.
The Maryland woman who lost millions said she was fortunate to have strong family support. “It’s money, and as hard as it is and how humiliating as it is and how hurtful as it is, it’s not worth your life,” she said.
The FBI has notified 4,323 victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud nationwide as of January 2025. About 76% of those victims were unaware they were being scammed. The bureau estimates it has saved victims almost $286 million through its intervention efforts.
Many of the scammers operate from Southeast Asia. Some may be victims themselves, forced to work under threats in what amounts to human trafficking operations.
The FBI advises people to avoid responding to unsolicited messages and never invest money with unknown individuals or organizations. They also warn that scammers typically avoid phone calls, preferring encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp.
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