8 Linked To Pig Butchering Scams Punished By SEC

Key Points:

• The SEC charged five entities and three individuals linked to pig butchering scams involving fake platforms NanoBit and CoinW6.
• The schemes used social media to trick victims via investment scams.

The U.S. SEC has filed complaints against five entities and three persons associated with the so-called pig butchering scams in connection to the alleged schemes involving fake platforms NanoBit and CoinW6.

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SEC Charges Five Entities in Pig Butchering Scams

These platforms deceived their investors into investing in them, disguising the entities as valid crypto trading operations. Their complaints were filed in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of New York and the Central District of California by the SEC.

According to the SEC, both schemes used social media platforms WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Instagram to lure investors. The fraudsters perpetrated a so-called “relationship investment scam,” where victims were led to believe they were investing through reliable means. Victims were usually convinced to invest large sums of money, after which they found their money stolen.

The pig butchering scam is a fraud scheme wherein online crooks gain the trust of their victims with promises of lucrative investments in fake digital currency, and all they want is to misappropriate the investors’ assets.

Social Media Investment Scams Target Millions

In the case of NanoBit, three US residents, Jiajie Liu, Fei Liao, and Hua Zhao were supposedly posing as finance pros in WhatsApp groups. Individuals managed to dupe at least 18 investors into investing almost $1 million in crypto assets and fiat currency. The platform would appear to show positive returns to investors, but nobody could withdraw funds, and just like that, scammers disappeared into thin air.

The second scheme involved CoinW6 and worked similarly but took on a more romantic angle. Using social media, fraudsters impersonated young professionals and wooed at least 11 victims into romantic relationships. Convinced after several weeks of gaining their trust, they coaxed their victims into investing in the company, thus incurring losses totalling over $2.2 million. The scammers faked account balances and profits to get the victim to invest more.

The FBI said losses from crypto fraud reached an all-time high of 5.6 billion dollars last year, of which 4 billion dollars was from pig butchering scams. The SEC is increasing its efforts, together with other regulators, to try to combat the growing crypto-related fraud threat.