Montgomery, AL (June 13, 2025) – Recently, Alabama residents were defrauded in two separate “pig butchering” scams, with a Baldwin County resident and an Etowah County resident losing, respectively, approximately $185,000 and $395,000. While most of the funds were already unrecoverable, the ASC was able to locate and seize $53,227.81 of the Baldwin victim’s money and $73,927.68 of the Etowah victim’s funds.
According to Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, a “pig butchering” scam is an investment scam where fraudsters gain the trust of victims over time and then deceive them into investing in fake crypto assets or another fraudulent investment opportunity. The term refers to the agricultural practice of fattening pigs before slaughter, symbolizing how scammers “fatten” their victims with false attention before exploiting them financially.
According to complaints filed by the ASC, the victims met the suspects through mobile and online applications, Bumble and Whatsapp, and were told by the suspects that the suspects could help them trade in cryptocurrency. Specifically, the Baldwin County victim was led to believe the suspect was a cryptocurrency expert and offered to teach her how to successfully invest in crypto. At the suspect’s direction, the victim purchased and then transferred crypto to what she believed was a legitimate crypto platform but was in fact a wallet the suspect controlled. Over a three-month period, the victim purchased over $185,000 in crypto and was told it had appreciated to over $443,000. When the victim attempted to make a withdrawal, she was informed she would have to send even more crypto to pay a tax bill. The victim became suspicious and contacted the ASC.
Similarly, the victim in Etowah County met the suspect through a WhatsApp online ad. The suspect convinced the victim to join a fraudulent online crypto trading platform, falsely claiming it was associated with Charles Schwab and registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In February and March of 2025, the suspect convinced the victim to invest $395,310 in crypto. The ASC learned of the scam when Wells Fargo Advisors reported its suspicions about the victim’s attempt to withdraw a large sum for crypto investing.
“The ASC continues to see an increase in cryptocurrency fraud, including ‘pig butchering.’ The ASC’s ultimate goal in cyber and crypto crimes is to capture the fraudster and recover funds. Most cyber crimes, however, originate overseas and the transactions are instant, making it nearly impossible to apprehend the criminals or recover funds. Crypto assets are particularly challenging to recover as most often the cryptocurrency is either immediately transferred to numerous different wallet addresses, ‘swapped’ for different cryptocurrencies and redistributed to different blockchains, and/or ultimately transferred to an overseas exchange and converted to fiat currency. In crypto frauds, our special agents devote long hours to an extremely tedious tracing process (in contrast to traditional financial analyses) but often aren’t able to recover funds. It’s extremely gratifying when we can pursue seizures on behalf of investors,” said ASC Director Amanda Senn.
If you know someone who has fallen victim to this scam, please report the incident immediately to the ASC. The longer you wait to report, the less likely you will be able to recover your money. Our office has heard many tragic stories from victims of the “pig butchering” cryptocurrency scam. We created a video demonstrating the devastating consequences from the victim’s perspective. This scam not only impacts the victims financially but can also cause mental and emotional turmoil. You can view the video by clicking this link.
The ASC cautions investors to thoroughly research any investment opportunity. Call the ASC at 1-800-222-1253 and ask the Registration Department to check out persons offering investment opportunities, investment advice for a fee, and any products they offer. Contact the ASC to report suspected fraud, inappropriate securities business practices, or to obtain consumer information. Free investor education and fraud prevention materials are available at www.asc.alabama.gov
