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Got a weird text from a stranger who wants to talk crypto?

It might be a pig butchering scam. A scammer builds trust online, then pulls you into a fake crypto investment. Crypto investment fraud cost people $7.2 billion in 2025. It was the top source of losses the FBI tracked, with 61,559 complaints, up 25% from 2024.[8]

Red flags

🚩 A stranger contacts you by text, social media or a dating app. Then they ask you to move to a chat app like WhatsApp.[8]
🚩 They can't or won't meet you in person.[12]
🚩 The talk turns to crypto or a "sure thing" investment.[8][9]
🚩 They send you an app or website to invest on.[10]
🚩 The app shows big profits, but you must pay "fees" or "taxes" to take money out.[8][9]
🚩 Someone says they can get your lost money back, for a fee.[9][11]

What to do

✅ Never invest on advice from someone you only met online.[9]
✅ Check the website or app is real before you use it.[9][10]
✅ Talk to someone you trust before you send money.[12]
✅ Do a reverse image search on their photos. It can show a fake.[12]
✅ Already paid? Contact your bank or payment company right away.[12] Report it at ic3.gov with all transaction details.[11]

Real case: a bank CEO lost $47.1 million

Shan Hanes ran Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart, Kansas.[1] Court records say that in December 2022, someone he didn't know messaged him on WhatsApp. The talk turned to crypto. The person's identity is still unknown.[3][4]

First he used his own money. Court records say he then took money from his church and a local investment club. That money was later paid back.[2][4]

From May to July 2023, he caused at least 11 wire transfers of the bank's money, a total of $47.1 million.[1][2] Each new wire was meant to "unfreeze" the money he'd already sent, court records say.[3] He lied to bank staff and the board.[3] The bank failed on July 28, 2023.[4] The FDIC took a $47.1 million loss, and investors lost $9 million.[1]

He pleaded guilty to embezzlement by a bank officer and got 293 months in prison, more than 24 years.[1][5] The court ordered $55,400,023.31 in restitution.[5] The FBI recovered over $8 million for the bank's investors.[6] The FBI said: "His idea to get rich quick, in all reality, was a pig butchering scheme."[1]

Why "pig butchering"?

The Department of Justice says the "butchering" is when the victim's money is finally stolen, after the scammer spent time building trust.[7]

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Questions

What is a pig butchering scam?

A scammer builds trust with you online, often for weeks. Then they get you to put money into a fake crypto investment. The U.S. Department of Justice says the name comes from the end of the scam, when the victim's money is stolen, or 'butchered.'

How do I know if a crypto investment is a scam?

Red flags: you only met the person online, they can't meet in person, they send you an app or website to use, and they ask for fees or taxes before you can take money out.

I already sent money. What do I do?

Contact your bank or payment company right away. Report it at ic3.gov with all transaction details. Watch out for anyone who says they can get your money back for a fee. That's often a second scam.

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Sources

  1. DOJ, U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Kansas: "Former CEO of failed bank sentenced to prison" (Aug 19, 2024). https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/pr/former-ceo-failed-bank-sentenced-prison
  2. Court record: U.S. v. Hanes, D. Kan. No. 6:24-cr-10013-JWB, Information (Doc 1), via CourtListener RECAP. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122.1.0.pdf
  3. Court record: Plea Agreement (Doc 16). https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122.16.0.pdf
  4. Court record: U.S. Sentencing Memorandum (Doc 27). https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122.27.0.pdf
  5. Court record: Amended Judgment (Doc 38). https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122/gov.uscourts.ksd.151122.38.0.pdf
  6. FDIC Office of Inspector General: "Victims of cryptocurrency scam awarded restitution" (Nov 4, 2024). https://www.fdicoig.gov/news/investigations-press-releases/victims-cryptocurrency-scam-awarded-restitution
  7. DOJ, U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts: forfeiture action, pig butchering (Mar 13, 2024). https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/united-states-files-forfeiture-action-recover-cryptocurrency-traceable-pig-butchering
  8. FBI IC3: 2025 Internet Crime Report. https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2025_IC3Report.pdf
  9. FBI IC3 PSA I-031423 (Mar 14, 2023). https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2023/PSA230314
  10. FBI IC3 PSA I-100322 (Oct 3, 2022). https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2022/PSA221003
  11. FBI IC3 PSA I-082423 (Aug 24, 2023). https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2023/PSA230824
  12. FTC: "What to know about romance scams". https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams

Facts checked against saved copies of each source (NopeTrap fact-check 02, PASS 19/19, Oct 24, 2026). Docket: U.S. v. Hanes, 6:24-cr-10013-JWB (D. Kan.).