Crypto Tax Scam: "Pig Butchering"

I've received over 20 calls in the last few weeks from people asking if they've caught themselves in a scam. It's clear this scam is in full throttle, so I wanted to make a quick post describing it in hopes of preventing others from falling victim.

The scam is called "Pig Butchering" and works as follows:

1. An Internet Stranger Befriends You: Often, this person is of the opposite sex. They are friendly and not very pushy. This introduction can be done in many different ways, including "oops wrong number" texts.
2. Gaining Trust: They build personal trust through regular communication and may even engage in multiple video calls.
3. Investment Pitch: They claim to have secret trading knowledge, usually involving nodes or some other hard-to-grasp crypto concept, and encourage you to invest ensuring they know what they are doing. They'll send you a link to a platform for depositing your funds. This platform usually cloaks common trading platforms like Crypto.com or Coinbase. This initial deposit is your first loss, but not their true target.
4. Illusion of Authentic Trading: They let you "trade" and make small, seemingly real profits. Some skeptics might try to withdraw these small profits, and the scammers may actually allow it to gain further trust. The scammer may encourage you to invest more as there is a big opportunity coming up you won't want to miss out on.
5. Hitting the Jackpot: Your trading hits the jackpot, and you "profit" 10x-100x your investment. At this point, most people try to claim their profits.
6. Capital Gains Tax Scam: When you try to withdraw your money, they'll say, "Sure, no problem. You just need to pay a portion of your capital gains tax first. Talk to ____ at the tax department". They request this payment before depositing your funds. This is their true target.

In this scam, the victim is fattened like a pig before the butchering. The scammer hopes the victim focuses on the massive "profits" to blind them to the ongoing scam. It's a long-ish con, built on trust through consistent and personal communication. Both women and men are targets, although I've noticed more men falling victim based on the calls I've received.

If you think you are a victim of this scam:

• Do not send any more money to the platform.
• Transfer any remaining crypto off of the wallet you used to send funds to the platform (could be compromised)
• Contact trusted family and friends (sorry, my firm won't be able to help you).
• Report the scam to your local authorities (though they may not be able to recover your funds).

FYI, you never need to pay capital gains tax before withdrawing funds.

Stay vigilant.