Recently, I came across a heartbreaking and infuriating case—a woman in California named Margaret was scammed out of nearly one million dollars in a cryptocurrency pig-butchering scheme. What’s even more surreal is that she only realized she’d been duped thanks to ChatGPT. This whole situation has left people in the crypto community with mixed feelings.

Here’s what happened: In May of this year, Margaret met a man named Ed on Facebook, who claimed to be a successful businessman. They hit it off quickly, and Ed soon steered the conversation toward cryptocurrency investments. Margaret didn’t hesitate—she withdrew $490,000 from her retirement account and took out a second mortgage on her house to pull out another $300,000, investing it all in the “investment project” Ed recommended.

Then? Her account was suddenly “frozen.” Ed told her that to unfreeze it, she’d need to deposit another $1 million. Anyone with common sense can see this is a scam, but victims are often already in too deep to see clearly. To make matters worse, the money ended up in a Malaysian account—once an international transfer like that is completed, it’s nearly impossible to recover the funds.

Honestly, this case exposes the classic tactics of pig-butchering scams: first they rope you in emotionally, then give you a small taste of “profit,” and finally use the sunk cost fallacy to pressure you into pouring in even more money. Anyone who truly understands crypto knows that no legitimate platform would ever say you need to deposit more money to “unfreeze” your account—that’s pure scammer talk.

This incident serves as a warning to everyone: the crypto world is full of pitfalls. No matter how slick or impressive someone seems, if a stranger invites you to invest in some so-called “private project,” just walk away. AI tools might help you spot a scam, but once your money is gone, not even a miracle can bring it back. Investing should be about making returns, not gambling with your life savings—don’t let a moment of impulsiveness turn you into a “lamb to the slaughter” for scammers.