Once a pig-butchering chat turns financial, the next prop is usually an app or web dashboard. It shows green trades, a growing portfolio, maybe a chat bubble from “support”. FinCEN’s pig-butchering alert and DFPI’s public notes both stress that these sites are built to look like real brokers while the operators control every number on the screen. Early, small withdrawals sometimes work — that is bait, not proof of regulated custody.
The tell is not a missing logo; it is the cashflow story. You can deposit by wire, stablecoin or gift-like top-ups, but meaningful exits trigger tax, compliance, liquidity or “account upgrade” fees. The CFTC’s romance-fraud guidance describes the same freeze: when the money is gone from your bank, the friend and the app go quiet or demand more. App-store presence is not a licence check — malware and clone brands have sat next to honest tools before.
Verify the firm on a regulator register you opened yourself, not a link from chat. Search the exact domain with “scam” and “warning”. Never install remote-access software so a mentor can “set the trades”. If you already funded a painted desk, stop topping up, export every screen, tell the bank or exchange where the money left, and start at Get help. Anyone selling unlocks of that balance: Fake recovery. For the romance runway that feeds these apps, see Pig-butchering: romance first, crypto deposits later.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.