‘Pig butchering’ scams hit online victims for billions
( NewsNation ) — It's a graphic, gruesome term for what has become a worldwide scam responsible for stealing an estimated $75 billion from people worldwide: Pig butchering, so named for the practice of fattening up pigs before they're slaughtered.
Modern-day pig butchering describes how online scammers play the long game: luring and grooming victims with seemingly innocent "wrong number" text messages. If someone responds, the scammer patiently engaged over weeks or months, eventually luring the victim into crypto investments.
But the investment products are fake. Once the victim sends enough money, their new-found online friend disappears.
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Who is responsible for pig butchering?
"These are large criminal organized networks, and they're operating largely unscathed," said John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas at Austin, in an interview with "Time." He and graduate student Kevin Mei published their research into pig butchering earlier this year.
"We trace crypto flows and uncover methods commonly used by scammers to obfuscate their activities, including multiple transactions, swapping between cryptocurrencies ... and bridging across blockchains," they wrote.
They also found that pig butchering victims are on both sides of the scam. Victims of human trafficking are lured into compounds in Southeast Asia where they are forced to scam people around the world.
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What are the pig butchering warning signs?
The financial security website Aura offers this list:
Receiving "wrong number" texts
Someone online quickly turns the conversation to crypto
A dating site match starts "loving bombing" you
You're told to download a "special" crypto trading app
You receive a small return on an initial investment
You're told you need to pay a hefty tax bill
Other sites warn of being offered too-good-to-be-true investments, pressure to invest quickly, inconsistent or vague details of the investment, difficulty withdrawing funds and persistent attempts to monopolize your attention.
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What if you believe you're already a victim of pig butchering?
Investopedia offers this advice:
Stop all contact with the scammer immediately
Notify your bank or broker and block any further payments to the scammer
Report the crime to local law enforcement and file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center
Gather all documentation related to the scam (text messages, screenshots, financial records, etc.) to assist investigators
Consider seeking counseling to cope with the emotional impact of the financial loss and the other impacts of being scammed
There is some encouraging news for victims. A Massachusetts man recently recovered $140,000, the amount he put into a crypto scam that targeted Russian-speaking seniors.
The refund came after Massachusetts authorities went after a company called SpireBit. Investigators were able to seize $269,000 from SpireBit's crypto wallet, which was distributed to four victims in the state.
