U.S. warns of rising crypto-romance schemes ahead of February 14

The U.S. Department of Justice has warned of an uptick in romance scams tied to cryptocurrency schemes ahead of Valentine’s Day. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, scammers are using online dating platforms to build long-term emotional engagement before steering conversations toward crypto investments or direct payments in digital assets.

Investigators point to a recurring pattern: requests to move chats from dating apps to WhatsApp or Telegram, sudden declarations of affection, refusal to meet in person, and persistent pressure to send money through crypto transfers, gift cards, or bank wires. These tactics are common in “pig-butchering” schemes — multi-stage fraud operations that combine emotional manipulation with fake investment platforms.

Analysts note that unlike the fast, opportunistic scams of previous years, today’s schemes rely on slow-building trust. Scammers may allow victims to withdraw a small “profit” to create the illusion of legitimacy, then push for larger deposits. Later stages introduce fabricated obstacles — “taxes,” “fees,” or “system errors” — before cutting off access to funds entirely.

Investigations show that many of these operations are linked to organized groups in Southeast Asia. Large compounds in Myanmar and Cambodia allegedly exploit trafficked or coerced workers to run high-volume crypto-fraud operations. Stolen digital assets are laundered through specialized networks, routed through shell accounts, and converted into luxury goods before disappearing.

In one recent case, a San Jose resident lost nearly $1 million to such a scheme and realized she had been defrauded only after consulting an AI service. The U.S. Department of Justice previously secured the freezing of $225 million in USDT — the largest digital-asset seizure tied to pig-butchering — after tracing the funds through the OKX exchange.

Authorities urge the public to verify trading platforms, check licensing and external reviews, and avoid financial proposals from strangers online. Ahead of February 14, when scam activity historically increases, officials are ramping up public-awareness campaigns and calling for heightened vigilance.