Someone I met online wants to teach me to invest in crypto — is it a scam?

Yes. The FTC’s wording leaves no room in it: if you meet someone on a dating site or app and they want to show you how to invest in crypto, that is a scam. It does not matter how long you have been talking.

Last verified 2026-09-21 · 2 primary sources

What it actually is

It starts as a friendship or a relationship, often after a wrong-number text or a match that goes somewhere warm quickly. Weeks pass with no mention of money. Then investing comes up as something they do, not something they are selling — an uncle in the business, a platform they use, an edge they are willing to share because they like you. The platform looks professional, your balance rises, and a small withdrawal works. Then a bigger one needs a fee, or a tax, or a deposit to unlock. The industry name for the pattern is pig butchering, which describes what the long friendly part is for.

The catch

The relationship is the product and the patience is the method. Nobody spends six weeks being kind to you before asking for money unless the ask is large. By the time investing is mentioned, the ordinary defense — would I send money to a stranger — has been answered: they are not a stranger any more. That is the entire mechanism, and it is why a rule about how long you have known someone will not save you. The crypto part is chosen for the same reason it always is: payments are typically irreversible and carry none of the protections a card or a bank transfer would, so there is no operator to appeal to afterwards.

The free way

Take the FTC’s rule literally and keep the two apart: dating is dating, investing is investing, and a person who is both is a scam regardless of anything else you know about them. If it has already started, stop — cut off contact, tell the platform, and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, all free. Do not pay a fee to release a balance, and do not pay anyone who contacts you afterwards offering to recover it; that is a second scam aimed at the same list. Tell one person you trust. Embarrassment is what keeps this running.

How to spot it next time

Investing raised by someone you met online, however long ago and however gradually.
A platform you were sent to rather than one you found.
A small withdrawal that works, followed by a larger one that needs a fee or a tax.
Being asked to keep the arrangement private, or to move the conversation off the app.
Any request to pay in cryptocurrency in advance, for any reason.
Contact after the loss from anyone offering to get the money back.

Where this comes from

Drafted with AI. Verified by humans against primary sources. Reviewed by a licensed professional where noted. Last verified 2026-09-21.

Every claim above, with the exact words of the agency that made it. If a paraphrase here does not match the quote, trust the quote and tell us.

The FTC states the rule without qualification.
“Never mix online dating and investment advice. If you meet someone on a dating site or app, and they want to show you how to invest in crypto, or asks you to send them crypto, that’s a scam.”consumer.ftc.gov
Crypto payments carry none of the protections a card or bank payment would.
“Cryptocurrency payments do not come with legal protections.”consumer.ftc.gov
And once sent, they are generally gone.
“Cryptocurrency payments typically are not reversible. Once you pay with cryptocurrency, you can usually only get your money back if the person you paid sends it back.”consumer.ftc.gov
Nobody legitimate asks to be paid in crypto up front.
“Only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency. No legitimate business is going to demand you send cryptocurrency in advance – not to buy something, and not to protect your money. That’s always a scam.”consumer.ftc.gov
The friendly stretch at the beginning is preparation, not coincidence.
“They’ve done their homework, checking out your profile and other information on the platform. That helps them say the right things to build a relationship…and before you know it, your new friend is talking money.”consumer.ftc.gov
What to do, in the FTC’s words.
“If you think someone you met on social media is a scammer, cut off contact. Tell the social media platform, and then tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.”consumer.ftc.gov

Got a different pitch in front of you?

A DM, a webinar offer, a coaching program, an ad. You get the same four answers this page gives — what it is, the catch, the free way, the red flags — about yours.

Reality Check opens on the website when Base888 launches. Until then, every pattern we have written up is on Is it a scam?.

This page describes a pattern, not any particular company or person. Patterns outlive the people running them, which is why it is written this way.