Warning: Tunnel of Love Leads to Scams

In what appears to be the more sinister side of romance, the amount of money individuals lost in 2024 to love-baiting scams, known to some as pig butchering, increased 40%.

That's according to ChainAnalysis, which said the scams, in which fraudsters approach their victims on dating apps or sites, groom them, and convince them to give them money or invest in a supposed "business venture," are growing in number, too. The number of people losing money this way increased by 210% year-over-year in 2024, probably because more scams are circulating. The operations are increasingly run out of compounds in Southeast Asia with staffers who are being held against their will.

One piece of good news though: The average loss per person declined 55% year-over-year.

"The combination of lower payment amounts and increased deposits could indicate a change in strategy for pig-butchering scams," said the researchers. "Scammers could be spending less time priming targets, and therefore, receiving smaller payments in exchange for targeting more victims."

Overall, with romance baiting comprising a third of total crypto fraud revenue in 2024, signs — or cupid arrows — point to romance scams becoming even bigger this coming year. Users of dating apps should be wary of connections made online, and should avoid sending money, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or prepaid gift cards to anyone they don't know personally.