A technique known as the “pig butcher” has spread globally as a cryptocurrency scam.
It appears that we need to learn some new cryptocurrency scam jargon. A scamming technique known as “pig butchering”—a reference to how a target is “fattened” before being butchered or slaughtered—that began in China, has now become a global fraud. Evolving in and spreading across borders and languages. In Chinese, it is known as “sha zhu pan”, which translates to “pig butcher” in English. It is essentially a cyber crime involving relationship and investment fraud. The perpetrator forms a relationship with the victim for months, often romantically but not necessarily, akin to fattening a pig, before tempting them to invest in the fake company and, symbolically, killing the victim.
according to this global anti-scam organization, a volunteer-led advocacy group, con artists on dating apps and social media has been targeting groomers for weeks interested in investing in cryptocurrencies, forex, gold and other commodities. Scammers do not ask for money directly, instead, they direct victims to a fake investment website or app that they control. Scammers persuade and harass victims to deposit more money into their “accounts” inside the fake platform by employing various tactics in the name of “customer service”. Ultimately the victims are not able to withdraw their money.
The Global Anti-Scam Organization also uploaded a video to YouTube titled, “What’s Behind the Rise of Online Relationship-Investment Fraud Today?” The caption said the scammers “originate from the telecommunications, online fraudulent cottage industry in Southeast Asia and run by a Chinese syndicate”. The caption states that news of the scam “started to grow inside China in mid-2019 and it quickly became a smashing success for the scam industry, which it called the “pig butchering plate”.
Watch the video here to understand how the scam works:
A few months ago, one of the victims, a 22-year-old, poured out his heart in a Reddit post to warn others about the scam. “It’s a slow scam, they first gain your trust, let you withdraw some funds to feel confident and then slowly take it away from you until you have nothing left,” in a Reddit post “These things usually involve romance,” the victim wrote. After this the victim explained in detail what happened.
Find the full post here:
According to a report in wall street journalThe number of romance-scam complaints increased in 2021 compared to 2020, based on Consumer Reports to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The number of romance frauds reported to the FTC rose nearly 70 percent in 2020 to 56,000 in 2021. According to FTC data, victims reported losing $547 million in such fraud, a 78 percent increase from the previous year.
The report quoted a data researcher at the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Emma Fletcher, as saying that COVID-19 may have provided an easy excuse for scammers to say they were unable to meet in person, which led to May have fueled the continued expansion of romantic scandals.
However, there are some ways you can prevent being a victim of this scam, and other cryptocurrency scams in general.
Be careful when making friends online. Don’t believe in financial gimmicks like “steady earnings without loss”, “low investment and huge returns”, etc. Don’t be greedy, and resist the temptations of gambling and high-yield investments. Don’t transfer money to accounts or people you don’t know. You must be careful while transferring money to strangers to avoid falling into the trap.
Control all your wealth yourself, do not delegate this responsibility to others. Digital assets as a growing investment market carry a lot of investment risks. Learn all about digital assets, and participate wisely if you want to receive rewards.
Beware of phishing. Invest your digital assets in well-known and credit-worthy platforms. The most important thing to remember is to recognize legitimate platform web URLs and avoid phishing websites that mimic official exchange platforms.
If people come to know that they have been duped, they should take immediate action to prevent the loss. If scammers approach the victim, their goal should be to collect as much information as possible about the identity, location, etc. of the fraudster. After that, report to the police immediately.
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