Pig Butchering Crypto Scam: Know About This Scam Where Fraudsters Use Romance As A Hook To Lure People Into Bogus Investments

ndtv.com:

A technique known as "pig butchering" has spread globally as a cryptocurrency scam

It appears that we'll have to learn some new cryptocurrency scam jargon. A scamming technique known as “pig butchering” — a reference to how a target is “fattened up” before being butchered or slaughtered — that began in China is now spreading across borders and languages, evolving into a global fraud. In Chinese, it's known as “sha zhu pan”, which translates to “pig butchering” in English. It's essentially a cybercrime including relationship and investment fraud. The offender builds a relationship with the victim over months, frequently romantic but not necessarily, similar to fattening a pig, before enticing them to invest in a fake company and, metaphorically, slaughtering the victim.

According to Global Anti-Scam Organisation, a volunteer-led advocacy group, con artists on dating apps and social media groom targets for weeks to get them interested in investing in cryptocurrency, forex, gold, and other commodities. The scammers do not directly ask for money, instead, they drive victims to a fake investment website or app that they control. The scammers persuade and harass victims into depositing more money into their own “account” inside the fake platform using a variety of ploys in the name of “customer service”. In the end, the victims are not able to withdraw their money.

The Global Anti-Scam Organisation even uploaded a video on YouTube, titled, “What's behind the surge of online relationship-investment frauds today?” The caption states that the scammers “originate from the telecom, online fraud cottage industry in Southeast Asia and are run by Chinese syndicates”. The caption adds that reports of the scam began “surging inside China