Thomas

My name is Thomas, I'm 42 years old, I live in Belgium, and I lost 85,000 euros in four months in a "pig butchering" scam — a term I had never heard before becoming a victim. It all started with a simple text message sent "by mistake."

The Wrong Number

On a Tuesday afternoon, I received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number: "Hi David, are we still on for dinner Thursday?" I politely replied that they had the wrong number. The person apologized, then started a conversation: "Since fate put us in touch, why not chat?" Their profile picture showed a smiling, elegant young Asian woman. Her name was "Mei Lin" and she described herself as a Singaporean financial analyst living in Brussels.

Our exchanges were friendly, then became more personal. Mei Lin told me about her life, her travels, her love of Belgian cuisine. She sent me photos of her walks around Brussels — photos that seemed authentic. After two weeks, there was an obvious romantic ambiguity. I was attracted to her, and she seemed interested in me.

The Trading Platform

One evening, Mei Lin showed me a screenshot of her cryptocurrency gains. "I trade in the evenings — that's how I financed my apartment." She didn't propose anything — not directly. She was just sharing her "successes." After a few days, I asked how she did it. She pointed me to an online trading platform, "CryptoTrustGlobal," with a professional website, a mobile app, and even a customer service chat.

I started with 1,000 euros, following her advice. In a week, my account showed 1,800 euros. I withdrew 500 euros without any issue — the money arrived in my bank account within 48 hours. That was proof the platform was legitimate. I now know that this successful withdrawal was part of the strategy: let the victim win and withdraw at first to build trust.

The Escalation

Encouraged by my early "gains," I invested 5,000 euros, then 10,000, then 20,000. My account showed spectacular profits. Mei Lin guided me on the "right moments" to buy and sell. Her advice always seemed to work. I felt smart, lucky, and grateful to her.

In two months, I had invested 70,000 euros. My account displayed 180,000 euros in gains. I was already dreaming of what I would do with that money: pay off my mortgage, travel with Mei Lin. I even borrowed 15,000 euros from a friend to "maximize a time-limited opportunity" that Mei Lin had flagged.

The Trap Closes

When I tried to withdraw 50,000 euros, my account was frozen. A message from the platform informed me that an "international unblocking tax" of 15,000 euros had to be paid before any withdrawal. Mei Lin reassured me: "It's normal, it's the regulation, I paid it too the first time."

For the first time, I doubted. I searched for "CryptoTrustGlobal" online. No trace in Belgian or European financial authority registries. Forums mentioned the platform as a known scam. I understood in minutes of research what four months of blindness had hidden from me.

I confronted Mei Lin. She first denied it, then tried to convince me the forums were "jealous competitors." When I insisted, she vanished. Her WhatsApp number, her photos, her profile — everything was deleted within hours. The CryptoTrustGlobal platform shut down two weeks later.

I lost 85,000 euros — my savings plus borrowed money. Belgian police registered my complaint but warned me that these networks operate from Southeast Asia and are extremely difficult to dismantle. I'm still repaying the money I borrowed from my friend. Our friendship did not survive.

What This Story Teaches Us

• "Pig butchering" combines romance scam and financial fraud. The romantic relationship serves only to build the trust needed to push the victim to invest. The real goal is always money, never the relationship.
• Fake trading platforms are undetectable to the untrained eye. Professional websites, mobile apps, customer service: everything is designed to mimic a legitimate platform. Only verification with financial authorities (FSMA in Belgium, FCA in the UK, SEC in the US) can confirm whether a platform is regulated.
• The first successful withdrawal is a deliberate trap. Allowing the victim to withdraw a small amount early on is an investment for the scammer: they spend a few hundred euros to recover tens of thousands.
• The "wrong number" text is a documented tactic. This seemingly innocent first contact is actually a mass message sent to thousands of numbers. Those who respond politely become targets.