pig butchering
/pɪɡ ˈbʊtʃərɪŋ/
CommonA fraud scheme where scammers build fake romantic or friendly relationships to lure victims into fake crypto investments.
The term translates from Chinese sha zhu pan (kill pig plate). It is a long-con that combines romance scam tactics with investment fraud. Victims are often highly educated and lose enormous sums.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | random person on linkedin keeps mentioning their crypto gains, pig butchering incoming | An unsolicited contact steering conversations toward crypto is a red flag for this scam. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | she put in $80k before realizing it was a pig butchering scam | A victim had invested a large sum before discovering the platform was fake. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | if a tinder match asks about your investment portfolio it's probably pig butchering | An early pivot to investment talk from a dating app match is a known scam trigger. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | the app showed profits for 2 months then locked withdrawals, textbook pig butchering | Fake early profits designed to encourage larger investment, followed by a locked exit. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- Someone you met online is now pushing you toward a specific crypto trading app.
- An investment platform a stranger recommended lets you see profits but not withdraw.
- A new contact claims to have insider trading knowledge and wants to share it with you.
- Describing the specific variant of crypto fraud rooted in fake relationships.
Do not use it when
- The scam is a fake relationship without an investment component.Use “romance-scam” instead.
- The crypto fraud did not involve a personal relationship being built first.Use “rug-pull-crypto” instead.
Pig butchering vs romance scam
pig butchering
Pig butchering specifically routes the fake relationship into a fake crypto investment platform.
romance-scam
Romance scam is the broader category of financial fraud through fake emotional connections.
Origin and context
Originated in Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar and Cambodia, where organized crime compounds run large-scale operations. The Chinese phrase sha zhu pan (kill pig plate) describes the process of fattening a victim before extraction. Gained widespread Western attention around 2021 to 2022.
- First seen
- 2018
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/pig-butchering