Investment scams involving cryptocurrency continue to surge.
A new FBI report finds cryptocurrency scams were responsible for half of all cybercrime losses in 2025, with losses topping $11 billion.
Bentley University Professor and creator of scamicide.com Steve Weisman said one of the most common ways scammers pull this off is by a tactic called “pig butchering,” which is just as bad as it sounds.
Emily Volz reports on a common cryptocurrency scam. (WJAR)
First the scammer tries to form a romantic relationship with you on a dating app or social media.
Once they have your trust, they encourage you to join their trading platform to invest in crypto currency.
“Generally, what they come up with is, ‘You know what, I am making a lot of money off of cryptocurrency investments, and I’m going to let you in on it,'” explains Weisman. “And they will provide an app for someone to be able to invest in a particular crypto currency.”
Weisman said when scammers take this approach, there’s one glaring red flag: the app they recommend isn’t available in legitimate Apple or Android app stores.
Weisman said once you put money in the app, it will tell you you’re making money.
However, once you try to withdraw those “earnings,” victims learn all of their money is gone.
While crypto currency is legitimate, Weisman said you should always be suspicious of someone who asks you to invest in it.
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He said scammers love cryptocurrency because it is so difficult to trace.
