“Pig Butchering” New Crypto Scams Delivered “Massive Losses” to Victims

An emerging and rather complex form of investment scam known as “pig butchering,” wherein flirtatious strangers convince unsuspecting users to invest in crypto trading platforms that eventually seize funds when victims try to cash out, has reportedly robbed victims of millions of dollars worth of cryptoassets. 

What is the “Pig Butchering” Scam?

The term “pig butchering” refers to a sophisticated and human-intensive process of using fake profiles on social media platforms and dating sites to lure people into investing in unsuspicious scams. 

“The fraud is named for the way scammers feed their victims with promises of romance and riches before cutting them off and taking all their money,” 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned in April 2022.

According to a recent analysis by security news and research website KrebsonSecurity, the most common type of pig slaughtering scam involves promising crypto platforms that promise unheard-of returns in a short period of time.

How does the Pig Butchering scam work?

According to the research, these frauds are common on dating websites and apps and frequently begin with what seems to be an errant SMS. As soon as the victim replies, they request that they continue their conversation over WhatsApp.

A pig butchering scam has four elements. These include social media or dating apps, WhatsApp, no video (scammers will come up with all kinds of excuses not to do a video call), and investment chit-chat, KrebsonSecurity’s report said. 

In the report, Courtney Nolan, a divorced mother of three daughters, is said to be one of the victims who lost more than $5 million in one such scam. Nolan said it all started with a direct Twitter message from a “crypto enthusiast” who promised to guide her on how to make reliable profits using the big currency trading platform XTB.com. Of course the platform the victim joins is a copy of the original website created to resemble the official XTB platform.

Cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly popular, making investors prey to the bad guys. There will be no measures that can prevent fraud from happening because the forms of fraud are always innovative and more sophisticated. Therefore, investors should prepare for a wide enough knowledge base, participate with a sober mentality so as not to fall into the traps that have been set.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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