Woman scammed out of $450K in 'pig butchering' scheme using fake cryptocurrency app

A tech executive from Philadelphia became the latest victim of a trending online romance scam known as "pig butchering." The woman fell for a cryptocurrency investment scheme in which she lost over $450,000, according to the New York Post.

"Pig butchering" is a described by Mashable as "a cryptocurrency investment scam," similar to other romance schemes. "Perpetrators of pig butchering play the long game with their victims, earning their trust over months. Eventually, scammers ask victims to start investing with fraudulent crypto platforms; the victims' money actually goes to cryptocurrency accounts and addresses controlled by the scammers."

The 37-year-old victim, Shreya Datta, met a man claiming to be named "Ancel Mali" on dating app Hinge. The man reportedly claimed to have moved near Datta from France and was a wine trader, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The two began speaking on messaging app WhatsApp, after which the accused deleted his profile to "focus on her."

The alleged man told Datta that he wanted to achieve "wealth freedom" so that he doesn't "have to work all my life, and I can have more time to accompany my lover to travel around the world, leaving footprints of our love in every corner of the world."

"Mali" convinced Datta to download a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading app that appeared to be from SoFi, a personal finance company. According to reports, the app presented itself legitimately by having two-factor authentication and customer service.

Datta was then convinced to convert $1,000 of her savings into crypto and trade it to thefake app. Her investment appeared to grow to $1,250, and she was allowed to withdraw the entire sum from the app. However, a subsequent investment of $6,000 was alleged to have grown to $9,000.

At this point, the woman was told she needed to increase her investment in order to make "real money." After liquidating her 401(k), selling stocks, and taking out personal loans, Datta had invested $450,000 through the fake app. The return had apparently doubled, but she was unable to make a withdrawal.

Datta still had never met the man from the dating app at this point.

Finally feeling suspicious, the Indian national hired a private investigator who allegedly discovered that the photos of the man named Mali were actually of a German personal trainer. Datta filed a report with the FBI and the police, but was not assured that she would get her money back.

The New York Post reported that Philadelphia police are conducting an "active and ongoing [investigation] with Central Detective Division.”

“The unfortunate reality is that scammers may pull on the heartstrings and prey on those looking for love or connection — not just on dating apps but on all online platforms," a spokesperson for the dating app Hinge told the New York Post.

As well, the FBI did not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

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