Romance baiting - also called pig butchering - is a long-game investment scam: a fraudster builds a personal relationship with your staff member over weeks or months, then steers them toward a fake trading platform and their savings, or toward giving the scammer access to business accounts. The Australian Federal Police warn that Australians were losing up to $4,500 every hour to romance scammers in 2022, and the AFP has warned the scam targets Australians through dating apps and social media. Training staff to spot it is less about one click and more about recognising a slow-motion social engineering pattern.
TL;DR
- Romance baiting is financial grooming: trust first, then a fake investment platform, then escalating payments to release nonexistent funds.
- The business risk is real: staff discussing accounts with outsiders, requests to move money, or company data shared with a new online friend.
- Train the pattern, not just the click: unsolicited contact, secrecy, platform moves to private apps, early affection, and pressure to invest.
- Keep the tone supportive, not disciplinary - victims are in a relationship with the fraudster and shame drives silence.
How the scam actually unfolds
- Contact. A wrong-number text, a dating app match or a social media friend request from an attractive stranger.
- Grooming. Daily conversation for weeks or months. The scammer shares wealth, travel and lifestyle; the relationship feels real.
- The pivot. They mention their success investing in crypto or shares and show screenshots of gains on what looks like a legitimate trading platform.
- The fake platform. Your staff member deposits a small amount, sees it grow on the screen, and deposits more. The money is already gone - the platform is a replica.
- The squeeze. Withdrawals fail and require new payments for taxes, fees or account verification, each met with another demand until the scammer and the platform vanish.
Reported global losses run into the tens of billions annually, and the scam is ranked the largest by revenue among crypto fraud types in the Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Crime Report - the scale is why the AFP and Scamwatch keep raising it.
Why it is a workplace security topic
A staff member deep in romance baiting is not just at personal financial risk. They may discuss work under emotional pressure, share company details to impress, move money through business accounts, or be plied for credentials and access by someone they believe they know. The scam exploits the same trust reflex as BEC and vendor impersonation - which is why it belongs in awareness training, not just a personal-finance tip sheet.
What to train
- The warning signs: unsolicited contact, fast escalation to affection, requests to move to private messaging apps, secrecy about the relationship, and any conversation that turns to investment.
- The platform test: a genuine investment is made through an ASX-licensed broker or an established exchange the staff member chose themselves - never a platform the new friend recommended.
- The secrecy tell: real relationships survive telling a colleague or family member. Secrecy pressure is the scammer's firewall.
- The withdrawal tell: early profits that cannot be withdrawn are the scam, not a technical glitch.
- The workplace channel: where to raise it without fear - a manager, HR or an anonymous channel - and that the practice is to help, not to discipline.
A monthly phishing simulation keeps social-engineering reflexes sharp, and a module on romance baiting fits the same cadence. For the wider programme, security awareness training covers what the monthly modules include.
FAQ
What is romance baiting? It is a long-con investment scam, also known as pig butchering: a fraudster builds a fake romantic or friendly relationship over weeks or months, then persuades the victim to invest through a fake platform or hands over money for fake fees. The AFP also uses the term romance baiting for the same scheme.
How is romance baiting different from a normal romance scam? A romance scam usually asks for money directly. Romance baiting grooms the victim first and then moves them into fake investments, often crypto, which produces far larger losses per victim.
How do I know if my staff member is being targeted? Watch for prolonged phone use, secrecy around one online contact, unexplained requests for pay advances, or talk of an investment opportunity from a new online friend. Approach supportively: victims are in a relationship with the fraudster and hard conversations drive them into hiding.
Are Australians actually losing money to this? Yes - the AFP reported Australians lost up to $4,500 every hour to romance scammers in 2022, and global analysis ranks pig butchering as the largest crypto fraud type by revenue in the Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Crime Report.
What should a workplace do if a staff member has been scammed? Treat it as both a welfare and a security event: support the person to report through ReportCyber and their bank immediately, review what business accounts or information were touched, and reinforce the no-blame reporting culture so others come forward.