Bitcoin Adviser Reveals How Client Lost Retirement Funds to Romance Scam
A Bitcoin investor misplaced his retirement financial savings after falling sufferer to a so-called “pig butchering” rip-off, regardless of repeated warnings from his advisory agency, in accordance to a firsthand account shared by a Bitcoin wealth adviser.
Key Takeaways:
- A Bitcoin investor misplaced his retirement financial savings after ignoring warnings and sending funds to a romance scammer.
- Pig butchering scams use emotional manipulation and pretend identities, together with AI-generated photos, to lure victims.
- The scams are surging, costing victims $5.5 billion in 2024 and drawing elevated legislation enforcement motion.
Terence Michael, an creator and adviser affiliated with The Bitcoin Adviser, mentioned an unnamed shopper transferred his Bitcoin holdings to a scammer after being approached on-line by a lady posing as a dealer.
The girl promised to double his Bitcoin and regularly constructed what appeared to be a romantic relationship, a trademark tactic of pig butchering scams.
Bitcoin Adviser Says Client Ignored Warnings, Lost Funds to Scam
In a post shared on X, Michael mentioned he made “quite a few cellphone calls” and despatched a “string of textual content messages” in an effort to cease the switch.
The warnings went unheeded. While Michael was out to dinner, he acquired a message from the shopper confirming that the funds had been gone.
“My shopper was falling for a pig butchering rip-off,” Michael wrote. “And as of final night time … I acquired a devastating textual content message from him saying he had misplaced all of it.”
Unlike conventional cyberattacks that depend on malware or direct pockets compromises, pig butchering scams rely upon emotional manipulation.
Victims are satisfied to willingly ship their belongings, usually after being groomed by days or perhaps weeks of dialog that mix funding recommendation with private and romantic claims.
Michael mentioned the shopper, who had lately divorced, went past sending Bitcoin. He additionally bought a airplane ticket for the scammer, anticipating to meet her in particular person.
After the switch was accomplished, the attacker reportedly admitted that the images used all through the connection had been faux and generated utilizing synthetic intelligence instruments.
The case highlights the rising scale of pig butchering scams throughout the crypto trade. In 2024 alone, these schemes drained an estimated $5.5 billion from victims throughout roughly 200,000 reported instances, in accordance to trade knowledge.
In June, the US Department of Justice introduced the seizure of more than $225 million in cryptocurrency tied to pig butchering operations, underscoring the rising enforcement response to considered one of crypto’s most damaging fraud developments.
AI-Driven Crypto Scams Hit $4.6B as Deepfakes Fuel New Fraud Wave
As reported, the speedy adoption of synthetic intelligence is driving a new generation of crypto scams, pushing international losses to $4.6 billion in 2024, in accordance to a 2025 Anti-Scam Research Report launched on June 10.
The examine, co-authored by Bitget, SlowMist, and Elliptic, discovered that scammers are more and more utilizing AI-generated deepfakes, faux video calls, and Trojan-infected job provides to deceive victims, with no less than 87 AI-powered rip-off rings dismantled within the first quarter of 2025 alone.
The report warns that deepfake impersonations, social engineering, and Ponzi schemes disguised as DeFi or NFT initiatives now dominate the risk panorama.
Criminal teams are additionally utilizing cross-chain bridges and obfuscation instruments to launder stolen funds, complicating restoration efforts.
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