Several cryptocurrency companies have come together to prevent nearly $50m stolen via “romance baiting” (pig butchering) scammers reaching its intended destination.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said it teamed up with crypto-exchanges Binance and OKX and stablecoin Tether to seize the funds.
Chainalysis used its investigations tooling to identify several addresses associated with a romance baiting operation based in Southeast Asia.
These campaigns typically combine romance and investment fraud: vulnerable individuals are approached on dating sites, before being groomed by scammers, and then persuaded to invest in some kind of investment scam.
Read more on romance baiting: Interpol Calls for an End to “Pig Butchering” Terminology
Chainalysis identified five wallets used by the scammers to receive payments from hundreds of victims’ wallets – some of which sent over $1m between November 2022 and July 2023.
“Once funds were transferred, scammers then sent proceeds to a consolidation wallet which transferred $46.9m in USDT [Tether] to a collection of three intermediary addresses. The funds then moved to five different wallets,” Chainalysis explained.
Tether subsequently shared the investigation’s findings with an APAC law enforcement agency and froze the funds in June 2024 at its direction.
It’s unclear why it took so long to publicize these efforts.
“Unlike other cryptocurrencies like ether and bitcoin, Tether has the technical ability to freeze known illicit funds,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, told Chainalysis.
“We are dedicated to working with law enforcement agencies worldwide to freeze funds associated with pig butchering scams and all manner of illicit activity, with the ultimate goal of providing restitution for victims.”
However, it’s not the first operation of its kind. In November 2023, Tether and OKX announced that they had collaborated with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to freeze around $225m in USDT linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia responsible for romance scams.
Romance Baiting on the Rise
Romance baiting is an increasingly popular way for cybercriminals to make money. A Chainalysis report from February revealed that associated losses rose 40% year-on-year (YoY) in 2024 to comprise a third of total crypto fraud revenue.
It added that the number of deposits to romance baiting scammers increased 210% YoY in 2024, indicating a growing number of victims.
In March, the US authorities and blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs announced they had seized $8.2m headed for romance baiting scammers.
The crime is often carried out by trafficked individuals imprisoned in large compounds in Southeast Asia. It is also made possible by online marketplaces like Huione Guarantee, which has processed more than $49bn in cryptocurrency transactions since 2021, according to Chainalysis.