Someone you met on a dating app or social media gained your trust over weeks, then convinced you to invest in a fake crypto platform that used Binance to receive your deposits or cash out. Pig butchering combines emotional manipulation with fake investment platforms — the funds were sent willingly but under false pretenses. Binance's mandatory KYC (since August 2021) means every deposit address maps to a verified identity. We trace your deposits on-chain, identify the Binance account that received them, and file emergency freeze requests.
In a pig butchering scam involving Binance, the scammer (who you met on Tinder, Bumble, WhatsApp, or Instagram) builds an emotional connection over weeks or months. They share photos, voice notes, video calls. Eventually, they mention their "uncle" or "friend" who taught them crypto trading, show screenshots of fake profits, and offer to help you invest. The scammer directs you to a fake trading website or app that looks professional — live charts, customer support chat, even a working mobile app. You make a small initial deposit and watch your balance grow. You might even successfully withdraw a small amount to build trust. Then you invest more.
How Binance enters the picture: The fake platform instructs you to deposit crypto to a specific Binance deposit address. Or, the platform gives you an external wallet address that later routes the funds to Binance for the scammer's cash-out. In both cases, the Binance account that ultimately receives your funds is KYC-verified — the scammer's real identity (name, government ID, country) is on file with Binance.
The "fee scam" within the scam: When you try to withdraw your "profits," the platform demands "capital gains tax," "withdrawal fees," "verification deposits," or "membership upgrade fees." The scammer, still acting concerned, urges you to pay — "I had to do this too, it's normal." Each payment leads to another demand. These fees are additional scams — do NOT send more money. The "profits" never existed — they were just numbers on a screen.
Why Binance is an advantage for pig butchering recovery: Binance's mandatory KYC (since August 2021) means every Binance deposit address is tied to a verified identity. Binance's Investigations Team is one of the largest among crypto exchanges — they handle thousands of legal requests annually. Binance has cooperated with the FBI on multiple pig butchering cases, including the 2023 seizure of $2.3 million in pig butchering proceeds. The deeper the scammer's involvement with Binance (more deposits, more transactions), the more data we can obtain through legal process.
Investigations Team: Binance maintains a dedicated Investigations Team that processes legal requests through their law enforcement portal. For pig butchering cases, Binance can: freeze the scammer's receiving account, share KYC information with law enforcement, provide transaction records, and flag associated accounts. Binance has a specific protocol for pig butchering cases because they've handled thousands of them.
Freeze capability: Binance can freeze the scammer's account within 3-7 business days of receiving a properly formatted legal request with a police report number. For active pig butchering operations where the scammer is still receiving deposits from new victims, Binance can implement emergency restrictions faster (within 24-48 hours) when the request is flagged as urgent.
KYC disclosure: Binance discloses account holder information (name, government ID, country of residence) to law enforcement or through a court order. The scammer's Binance account is tied to their real identity — they cannot cash out anonymously. Binance has cooperated with the FBI, Europol, and national police forces on multiple pig butchering cases.
The Chainalysis KYT advantage: Binance uses Chainalysis KYT to screen deposits. If the scammer's Binance deposit address has received funds from addresses associated with known pig butchering platforms, Binance's system may have already flagged it. We check whether the account was pre-flagged when filing our request — a pre-flagged account strengthens our case.
The multi-victim angle: Pig butchering scammers typically have multiple victims sending to the same Binance deposit address. If other victims have already reported the address, Binance may have already initiated an investigation. We coordinate with law enforcement to identify other victims — this strengthens the case and can lead to faster action from Binance.
A client was contacted on Tinder by someone claiming to be a successful crypto trader based in Singapore. Over 8 weeks, the scammer sent daily messages, shared photos of meals and daily life, and even video-called (using a real person, likely a trafficking victim). The scammer mentioned their "uncle" who taught them crypto trading, showed screenshots of a trading dashboard showing 3% daily returns, and offered to help the client invest.
The deposits: The client deposited €180,000 to a fake "trading platform" over 4 weeks. The platform showed fake profits of €240,000. When the client tried to withdraw, the platform demanded a €48,000 "capital gains tax clearance fee." The client paid the fee — and the platform demanded another €30,000 for "verification." The client contacted us instead of paying again.
Our response: We traced the deposits: all €228,000 (including the fee) had been sent to a single Binance deposit address. We filed an emergency freeze request with Binance's Investigations Team alongside a police report. Binance confirmed the address was already under investigation — two other victims had reported the same address. The account (containing €152,000 in USDT) was frozen within 48 hours. The scammer's KYC revealed a resident of Nigeria.
Outcome: 67% recovery (€152,000 of €228,000). The €76,000 gap was due to the scammer withdrawing to multiple external wallets before the freeze. The multi-victim angle accelerated Binance's response — when multiple victims report the same address, Binance treats it as an active fraud operation. Criminal proceedings initiated through Interpol channels.
Details anonymized to protect client confidentiality. Swiss professional secrecy applies.
The "fee scam" within the scam: If a platform is asking you to pay "withdrawal fees," "tax clearance," or "verification deposits" — these are additional scams. Do NOT send more money. Read our recovery scam warning.
The scammer says they were also a victim and wants to help. Under no circumstances. This is a secondary manipulation tactic. Real recovery goes through legal channels — not through the scammer.
Yes. Every Binance deposit address is tied to a specific user account with KYC. We trace your deposit on-chain to confirm it reached the Binance address, then file a legal request with Binance to identify the account holder. Binance's KYC records include the account holder's name, government ID, and country of residence. The account holder may be the scammer directly, or an intermediary (money mule) — either way, the identity is the starting point for recovery.
Almost certainly. This is the classic pig butchering pattern: the platform shows fake profits to keep you invested (and investing more), then blocks withdrawals with escalating fee demands. The "profits" never existed — they were just numbers on a screen. Do NOT pay any "withdrawal fees," "tax clearance," or "verification deposits" — these are additional scams. Contact us to trace your original deposits to Binance.
Yes. Binance's Investigations Team can freeze the scammer's account within 3-7 business days of receiving a properly formatted legal request with a police report number. For active pig butchering operations where the scammer is still receiving deposits from new victims, Binance can implement emergency restrictions faster. If multiple victims have reported the same Binance deposit address, Binance may have already initiated an investigation — this accelerates the process.
Under no circumstances. This is a well-known secondary manipulation tactic in pig butchering scams. After a victim discovers the scam, the scammer (or someone claiming to be the scammer who "escaped the compound") will claim they were also forced to participate and offer to help recover funds for an upfront fee. This is almost always a continuation of the same scam. Real recovery goes through legal channels — blockchain forensics, exchange cooperation, court orders, and law enforcement. Contact us instead.
In most cases, the person you interacted with is not the person in the photos. Scam compounds use stolen photos from social media — often of influencers or models. Video calls may use AI-assisted deepfake technology or a different person than the one in the photos. Even when a real person is on the video call, they are often a trafficking victim working in a compound under coercion. Identifying the individual scammer is usually not productive for recovery. Instead, we focus on the funds — the Binance account that received your deposits is tied to a real identity through KYC. That's the person we target for recovery.
Stop all communication with the scammer — but do NOT block them yet. Screenshot all chat logs, especially Telegram conversations (the scammer can delete messages on Telegram, and if you block them, the chat may be lost). Save all photos, voice notes, and the platform URL. Then stop communicating. If the scammer continues to contact you, their messages may provide intelligence (new wallet addresses, new platform URLs) — but only if you let them believe you are still cooperating. Contact us before taking any action.
Describe what happened. Include the platform URL, chat evidence, Binance deposit addresses you were given, transaction hashes, and amount lost. We respond within 6 hours.