There is a Safe-Harbor Tax Relief for Ponzi Scheme Losses¹ for USA taxpayers. A Ponzi scheme is defined as an investment fraud where the schemer uses invested money to create fake investment returns. Shazhupan / Pig-Butchering Scams can be categorized as Ponzi Schemes. If you do not plan on recovering any of your losses, you can deduct 95% of your total loss on your 2021 tax returns. Doing so will reduce your taxable income during the year of your loss. If you plan on recovering your losses via third-party services, you can deduct 75% of your total loss. If your loss is greater than your taxable income of the year, you may carry over the remainder of your loss to your 2022 tax returns until your total loss amount is fully claimed. This means you will get money back from the IRS via taxes you have paid in 2021. Please note: This is not the money that you lost to the scam, but it is in reality the money you paid to the IRS, that will be returned to you.