# Pig Butchering

> A long-running scam that builds a fake personal relationship before steering the victim into fraudulent crypto investments.

Canonical URL: https://fudfomo.co/glossary/pig-butchering
Source: What The Block! Dictionary v1.0 (last updated 2026-04-25), browsable at https://wtb.fudfomo.co.

## Definition

Pig butchering is a slow scam that often starts on dating apps, social media, or messaging platforms. The scammer spends weeks or months building trust before introducing a fake crypto investment platform that shows fictional gains and finally locks the victim out when they try to withdraw.

The scam is industrial in scale, often run from compounds where the operators are themselves victims of trafficking. The safest defence is treating any crypto pitch from someone you only know online as suspect.

## Regulatory context

Many jurisdictions now run dedicated task forces against pig butchering. Reporting promptly improves the chance of even partial recovery.

## Related terms

- [Phishing](https://fudfomo.co/glossary/phishing): A scam where attackers impersonate a trusted service to steal credentials or trick you into signing a bad transaction.
- [Exit Scam](https://fudfomo.co/glossary/exit-scam): When the people running a project disappear with users' money.
- [KYC](https://fudfomo.co/glossary/kyc): Know Your Customer. The identity checks an exchange runs before letting you trade.

## See the full catalogue

What The Block! covers more than 2,000 plain-English crypto terms, delivered as embeddable hover-state tooltips for crypto exchanges. https://wtb.fudfomo.co