Case Study: Online Romance Led To Scam

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Romance scams have been around for years and are extremely common. Here we detail a ‘typical’ romance scam where crypto was involved. If you think you may be involved in a similar scam, the red flags to look out for include:

• The promise of huge returns in a short space of time
• A very new platform with no review or social proof
• Difficulty getting your money out when you ask
• Demands for large payments in return for withdrawals
• Unknown, worthless tokens being deposited in a crypto wallet

A special connection

The first question Chris* asked us when he called shortly before Christmas 2025 was “Is this conversation confidential?”.

He needed absolute discretion, he explained, because he’d been speaking to a woman online without the knowledge of his wife and she’d encouraged him to put a large sum of money into a crypto investment she claimed was “guaranteed” to pay out a healthy return within a month.

Alarm bells should have been ringing, but Chris truly believed he had a special connection with the woman, even though he’d never met her in person, and that she was genuinely trying to help him take advantage of a unique investment opportunity.

But things started to unravel when Chris tried to make a withdrawal from his investment account, which was by now showing a huge gain on the app he’d been encouraged to set up via a link sent to him on WhatsApp by a ‘business partner’ of his online companion.

He found that he was blocked from taking out his cash and told that there was an issue with the current platform and that his account was being migrated to a new domain. He was assured that everything was okay and that his account would be up and running again when the new website went live.

Funds Moved To New Platform

A few days later he was given the details of where to find his new account and sure enough when he logged in he found his funds were apparently safe and sound. But the difficulties he’d had getting his money had spooked him and he was keen to check everything was in order.

He again tried to withdraw part of his investment but once again found the withdrawal was blocked. This time he was told he needed to pass an “Anti-Money Laundering Test” in order to complete the transaction. He was vaguely aware of AML requirements when dealing with other financial institutions so it sounded as if it could be genuine.

To do this, he was told, he needed to make a deposit of crypto into a wallet supplied by his online friend’s business partner to “validate” his identity and prove ownership of the wallet he wanted his funds transferred into.

Despite some reservations he went ahead with the deposit after being given many assurances that this would be the final stage in the withdrawal process and that once his identity was verified his funds would be freely available.

But again there was a problem. This time he was told that there was an unexpected tax to pay due to the funds being transferred across international jurisdictions. The sum was 10% of his overall holdings which had grown dramatically due to the profit he’d allegedly made.

Victim refused to pay

At this point he became more suspicious and refused to pay. He asked the woman and her business partner why the tax couldn’t be taken from his investment rather than him having to send more money to the platform.

They gave him an entirely fictitious reason as to why this wasn’t possible and insisted he needed to pay the tax soon or else his money would be “confiscated” by the authorities. He was also warned he could face a large fine and even legal consequences if the balance wasn’t settled.

It was then that his mental health started to suffer. He was wracked with worry about losing the money he’d put into the investment and he wasn’t sleeping properly. He knew he had to find out exactly what was happening and whether or not he’d fallen for an elaborate scam.

It was then that Chris contacted The Crypto Adviser team. We took a deep dive into his situation and unfortunately established that the platform he’d been investing in was fake, as were the additional charges he was being asked to pay. The fees were in fact part of what is known as a pig-butchering scam – a fraud which plays out over several months during which all the victim’s funds are gradually stolen.

Not only had he lost a large amount of money, but he also feared that his wife would find out about what had happened and leave him. He also had to contend with the fact that he’d been duped by his online ‘love interest’ over several months and now the illusion had been shattered.

Funds were eventually recovered

Once we’d established exactly what had happened, Chris wanted to know if there was anything he could do in terms of recovering his lost funds. The scammers had been asking him to transfer funds from his bank account to a legitimate crypto exchange before using the cash to buy crypto and sending it on to a wallet address they’d supplied.

We talked through the exact circumstances of the transfers with him and established that there was a possibility he could get some of his money back through legal channels. We then connected him with a partner agency who pursued the recovery on his behalf and was able to secure the return of a significant portion of his funds without charging him an up-front fee.

This is not always the case though. When legal redress against a financial institution isn’t an option it’s sometimes possible to track the crypto involved and pursue recovery this way. However, this work is expensive and fees will be charged in advance for this service.

Also, crypto recovery or pursuing lost funds can be a lengthy process. Any company that tells you it isn’t and claims ‘guaranteed’ results is likely to be a scammer themselves. Recovery is complex and can involve traditional legal channels as well as investigative processes as well. A genuine company will always be upfront with the realities of the work and the likelihood of a successful outcome.

However, if we examine your case and can see the potential for a case to be pursued, we will make a recommendation to you. It’s then entirely your choice as to whether you pursue the course of action or not.

We can help

If you’ve fallen victim to a crypto scam, or think you may be involved in one, get in touch. We’ll work quickly to establish the legitimacy or not of your investment and advise on a course of action if the option applies.

We also offer due diligence reports on crypto and financial platforms which can be produced either before you invest in a platform or if you’ve already signed up.

*Not his real name