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Fake exchange
A fake exchange is a website or app that looks like a crypto trading platform but is run by scammers. It takes your deposit, shows invented balances or profits, and blocks withdrawals or demands more money, often called taxes or fees, before you can take anything out.
What it means for you. A balance on a screen is only a number the operator chose to display; what counts is whether you can withdraw. A demand to pay a fee or tax before your funds are released is a common sign of this fraud. In the US you can check whether a platform is registered with regulators, and type its address yourself rather than follow a link from someone you met online.
Sources: CFTC: Watch out for fraudulent digital asset and crypto trading websites, FBI IC3 PSA: Cryptocurrency investment schemes, bitcoin.org: Avoid scams (fake exchanges) · checked 4 October 2026
Pig butchering
Pig butchering is a long-running crypto investment scam. A stranger met online, often through a dating app or social media, builds a friendship or romance over weeks, then steers the victim to a fake investment platform that shows invented profits until the money is taken.
What it means for you. The fake platform can show growing profits, then demand "taxes" or "fees" before any withdrawal, and the money never arrives. Anyone you have not met in person who brings up crypto investing is the core warning sign. Crypto sent to these platforms is usually gone, and follow-up offers to recover it are often a second scam.
Sources: FinCEN: Alert on the virtual currency investment scam known as pig butchering, FTC: What to know about cryptocurrency and scams, FinCEN Alert FIN-2023-Alert005: Prevalent virtual currency investment scam (pig butchering) · checked 4 October 2026