Months of "gains"—then the slow bleed began

A wrong-number text turned into daily chats about work, food, and family—I was not hunting for romance or trades, just company during a dull season. After trust built, they mentioned investment gains on a platform a cousin supposedly used, and curiosity got me to look.

I deposited a small test amount; the app showed smooth growth and quick statements. They urged larger transfers to unlock withdrawals, then cited taxes, compliance holds, and one more trade that would "fix" the balance.

Pig-butchering blends grooming with a fake brokerage: the numbers are theater, the fees are endless, and the relationship dies when you stop paying. Over months I sent far more than the first experiment before the app and the person vanished the same week.

I told myself the friendship felt real and the platform looked licensed enough on the surface. Part of me clocked every stalled withdrawal, but I was too deep to admit I had been steered into a script.

When the app returned server errors and the chat profile deleted itself overnight, I searched the pattern online and found the same story under the pig-butchering label. Reading identical timelines from strangers was the moment I stopped bargaining with hope.

I lost months of savings and carried embarrassment that made me avoid friends for weeks. Rebuilding money and boundaries is ongoing, but reporting broke the isolation.

I now treat any investment link from a new online friend as a red line. I wish I had tested a withdrawal after the first deposit instead of after the fifth.

• Pig-butchering: strangers build trust, then push fake apps—never invest via their links.
• Report to the FTC and notify your bank early.

For more help, see our Report a scam page and Spot and avoid scams guide.