SCAM ALERT: Pig-Butchering Investment Scams Are Growing!

Woman looking at phone at being scammed

Originally published by the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services.

“Pig-butchering” scams often start with a wrong-number text or friendly online message that slowly turns into what feels like a real friendship or romance.

Once trust is built, the scammer moves the conversation to encrypted apps like WhatsApp or Telegram and introduces a “can’t-miss” investment opportunity involving cryptocurrency or gold futures. They’ll direct you to invest through a website or app that looks legitimate but is completely fake, and any money you send goes straight to the scammer.

This is the Pig-Butchering Scam

 

How to protect yourself:

  • Be careful with unexpected texts or online messages from people you don’t know.
  • Do not move conversations to WhatsApp or Telegram just because someone asks.
  • Be cautious of anyone offering investment advice online.
  • Never send money, crypto, or personal information to someone you haven’t met in real life.
  • Call the Iowa Insurance Division at 515-654-6600 to check if an investment or advisor is real.

What to do if this happens to you:

1.      Stop talking to the person right away.

2.     Contact a trusted friend, family member, or your bank or credit union.

3.     Report it to help protect others:

Local law enforcement

Iowa Insurance Division: 515-654-6464

Iowa Attorney General’s Office: 888-777-4590

  Illinois Attorney General's Office: 800-386-5438 

Federal Trade Commission: reportfraud.ftc.gov

The more people know about this scam, the more we can stop it.  Please share this message with friends, family, and neighbors.

Visit iowafraudfighters.gov for more information and a self-guided online course on fraud prevention.