DeFi Market Journal has released a new guide comparing pig butchering and romance scams, two frauds that often begin with an online connection. Both scams typically start on dating apps or social media, but they diverge in their methods. Romance scams involve a fake partner asking for financial help, while pig butchering scams lure victims into fake crypto trading platforms.
The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report highlights the scale of these scams. Romance fraud cost Americans $929.3 million last year, while investment fraud, including pig butchering, reached $8.65 billion. Of that, $7.228 billion was lost to crypto investment fraud across 61,559 complaints. Another $1.4 billion was lost to recovery scams, where victims are tricked into paying to retrieve lost funds.
The guide outlines three key checks to spot these scams early: reverse image searching photos, watching for a quick shift to private messaging apps, and being wary of crypto discussions. The FBI warns that paying fees to unlock funds in pig butchering scams does not guarantee recovery.
Robert Stone, editor of DeFi Market Journal, emphasized the importance of never sending more money to recover initial losses. The full guide, including a comparison table and video, is available on the DeFi Market Journal website.