California Trader Shares: How I Spotted a Sweet Trap on Tinder and Escaped a Pig Butchering Scam

Finding a partner on dating apps has become a norm of modern life, but the "pig butchering" scams that come with it are becoming increasingly rampant. We usually hear tragic stories of victims losing their life savings, but recently, a user on an online forum shared his personal experience of how he successfully spotted a scam and walked away unscathed while on the verge of falling into a "fog of love," thanks to his keen observation and common sense.

The story began on the dating app Tinder. The user met a lady on the platform, and they hit it off, quickly moving their conversation to WhatsApp to deepen their connection. According to his recollection, although she claimed to be in Singapore and they could only chat online, their alignment in values led him to believe for a moment that he had met an ideal partner. This lady not only appeared gentle and considerate but also demonstrated a certain level of financial literacy, even teaching him about credit scores and debt management. For the user, who was relatively lacking in financial terminology, this "intellectual charm" combined with the potential for romance caused him to lower his guard initially.

However, as the conversation deepened, the topic subtly shifted to wealth and investment. The lady began talking about her investment goals, planning to grow $400,000 to $1 million. Given that the user lived in a large city in Southern California surrounded by wealthy individuals, this statement did not initially cause aversion. He tried to steer the topic back to romance, and the friendly atmosphere was maintained for a while.

The turning point occurred after the lady strongly requested a video call. Out of a desire to "confirm the other person's real identity," the user accepted the request. But the call lasted only about two minutes; after showing her face to gain trust, she hastily hung up, claiming she "had another call." Immediately after, her approach became extremely aggressive, insisting on teaching the user how to "trade stocks." She claimed that as soon as her financial advisor gave a signal, they could trade simultaneously.

To prove her capability, she sent a screenshot of a trade showing a profit of over $3,000. It was this very screenshot that allowed the user, who described himself as a "computer guy," to spot the flaws.

The screenshot showed a trade regarding DASHUSDT, with an opening price of $85 and a closing price of $86. Although the user admitted he wasn't an expert in stocks, he immediately verified it on TradingView and found that the asset had not touched the $85 price point at all in the past four hours. This completely contradicted the lady's claim that the trade "just happened."

A more fatal technical loophole lay in the interface of the so-called trading app. Aside from the fake trade data, all other values on the screen displayed "NaN" (Not a Number, an invalid value in computing). For the user with a computer background, this was not just a warning bell—it was definitive proof of a scam. Furthermore, she induced him to set up Cash App, informing him that the minimum trade amount was only $200.

After noticing these anomalies, the user did not blindly invest but chose to search online. After reading the detailed steps of "pig butchering" on the Reddit forum, everything clicked. He realized that the beauty in the video call might just be a "front" for the fraud ring, and her "doing paperwork" before the call was likely just her busy dealing with other potential victims. In the end, he decisively blocked and reported the account.

Although the user admitted he was briefly blinded by "potential love," he was grateful that he woke up to reason at the last moment. However, not everyone is so lucky.

In the comment section of the post, another user shared a heartbreaking contrasting case. His father encountered the same scam and believed the scammers' brainwashing rhetoric that "your family opposes this because they want to control you," eventually investing his entire net worth. The father not only lost his life savings and 401k pension but also fell into alcoholism and extreme depression. As pointed out in the comments, these scammers are professionals; they have scripts to manipulate psychology. Even when family members provide evidence, victims may still return to the scammers because they crave the attention.

BrokersView Reminds You

This user's experience proves that when facing carefully designed social scams, maintaining an objective awareness of verification is the last line of defense for protecting your assets.

Scammers usually establish trust by displaying high moral values or professional financial knowledge. Once the topic suddenly shifts from emotion to high-return investments, it is a clear red flag. In addition, do not trust profit screenshots sent by the other party. As shown in this case, checking real-time market prices and inspecting rough errors in the app interface (such as NaN errors or incorrect candlestick charts) can often directly expose the lie.

Besides, scammers may use brief live video calls to dispel victims' doubts, but this does not mean the person chatting with you is the person in the video, nor does it mean the trading platform behind them is legitimate.

If you encounter similar suspicious dating and investment requests, please be sure to retain evidence and submit a complaint to BrokersView.