Pig Butchering Scams: What They Are and How to Stay Safe
It started with a friendly text message: “Hi, I’m Patty. This is my new number. Do you remember me?” No, John didn’t know anyone named Patty, and he responded in that way. “Patty” was extremely polite and apologized for taking John’s time, and John was equally courteous and friendly. “Patty” continued the conversation, asking John what he did for a living, she contributed that she works in marketing. After a couple of further exchanges, she apologized again and said that it was interesting talking with John, asked if they could keep in touch. John is intrigued and says, “Sure, it’s always good to network.” Unfortunately, John’s networking won’t lead to business or career enhancement; he’s been led to the trough for the “fattening up” phase of a big butchering scam.
A pig butchering scam is a sophisticated form of online fraud that combines elements of romance scams and investment fraud. It typically unfolds over an extended time period, often starting with an “accidental” message on social media or messaging apps, or on dating apps. The scam involves building a relationship of trust and emotional investment on the part of the victim. There’s eventually a promise of a chance at a lucrative investment opportunity, most commonly involving cryptocurrency.
The Anatomy of a Pig Butchering Scam
A Pig Butchering operation has four phases: Contact, Fattening, Hook, and Slaughter. While the object of the scam isn’t actual “slaughter,” the word as used in this scam means the harvesting of the funds the victim thinks he is investing. Because there is little to no hope of retrieving the funds, “slaughter” is apropos as a description.
- Initial contact: scammers use “wrong number” texts, dating apps, and social media to make contact with the potential victims. They use a broadcast method, not selecting a particular person to target, just iterating through profiles, numbers, or lists. They create a conversational connection, building trust and rapport over time.
- Fattening the victim: the scammers use a number of psychological tactics to build a relationship. They use fake personas, romantic interest, and even mentorship offers to keep the victim engaged and interested.
- The Hook: eventually, the scammer presents an offer of a promising investment. They’ll introduce the victim to the idea of cryptocurrency or other complex investment strategies. They present fake success stories and doctored screenshots to lure their mark into the story.
- The Slaughter: Irretrievable financial losses; the victims are enticed to invest larger and larger sums. The scammer shuts off all contact and blocks the number of incoming communications, and the victim is left with no other way to contact the scammer. The victim is left in financial and emotional turmoil.
Why Pig Butchering Scams Work
Can you see how the scammers build their empire? They play on the trust, greed, and fear that their victims exhibit. These aren’t kiddies living in their mommies’ and daddies’ basements. They’re educated businessmen who know full well how to leverage social engineering tactics to manipulate their marks into the game. We want to trust people, and the friendlier they are, the more we want to trust them. There’s often also a part of us that does seek to gain something for little or nothing in return. Many of the victims fear being friendless, penniless, and without status. Pig Butchers know how to exploit all of that.
Why This Pig Butchering Scams are Particularly Insidious and Widespread
Pig butchering is gaining in popularity among fraudsters, for several reasons. It’s also reprehensible for some of the same reasons, and I’ll lay out the case here:
- These scammers build their businesses by exploiting trust and emotional connections over time. The victims can have difficulty recognizing the unfolding of the fraud.
- The scam preys on the financial aspirations of the victims, and it often involves seemingly lucrative cryptocurrency investments. Cryptocurrency can be difficult to understand even for people who are technologically astute, and most of us aren’t. If it’s not a crypto investment, it’s usually some other complex scheme.
- These scams are often run by large, transnational criminal organizations, which makes them both very efficient and very difficult to combat.
- Many victims don’t report their losses because they’re embarrassed or afraid, so the scams go unchecked.
- It’s like playing Whack-a-Mole to try and take these operations down. The perpetrators force their methods to evolve with emerging technologies and various platforms.
- “Patty” may sound like a friendly American girl, but many of the people making the initial contact are victims of human trafficking. They’re forced to work in sweatshops where they make hundreds of contacts each day, and that adds another layer of complexity to the whole situation.
Spotting the Red Flags of Pig Butchering
How could someone spot the red flags of a scam, assuming they didn’t stop the conversation from the beginning? Well, the offers are too good to be true, for one thing. The scammers will be offering unrealistic returns or guaranteed profits. The unsolicited opening volley should present itself as a red flag, as well. Actual wrong numbers that evolve into a friendly conversation are pretty rare.
Then there’s the pressure to act quickly on the investment. The scammer will use time-sensitive offers and will urge the victim to rush with urgency. There are some cryptocurrency hot signals as well, like untraceable transactions and platforms that you can’t find anything about online.
Protecting Yourself and Others from Pig Butchering
While we want to be friendly and helpful, we should also be situationally aware. You can help people without helping them rob you. You can identify and avoid scams by following these tips:
- Be wary of unsolicited contact from strangers, especially if they seem like they’re trying to build a relationship pretty fast.
- Never send money or personal information to someone you haven’t met in person.
- Be skeptical of investment opportunities that promise high returns with low risk.
- Verify the identity and legitimacy of contacts and organizations through official channels.
- Resist any pressure to act immediately on financial decisions.
What should you do if you think you’re in a pig butchering scam?
- Stop all communication immediately with the other person.
- Do not send any more money or personal information.
- Document all your interactions and transactions related to the scam.
- Contact your bank to secure your accounts and attempt to stop any pending transactions.
Report it to the authorities, even if you’re embarrassed!
- File a report with your local law enforcement.
- Submit a complaint to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission.
- If securities fraud is involved, report it to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After you’ve done that, perform some housecleaning tasks:
- Change passwords for all your online accounts, especially the financial ones, even if you didn’t grant access to anyone else.
- Enable two-factor authentication wherever it’s offered.
- Monitor your credit reports and financial statements for any suspicious activity.
- Place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your credit reports.
Combatting the Pig Butchering Scammers
You may think that there’s not much law enforcement can do to combat pig butchering scams. It is a dark situation, but they’re trying. Law enforcement agencies are using blockchain intelligence to track and follow funds. The U.S. Secret Service has launched “Operation Crypto Guard” to raise awareness and prevent pig butchering scams. Crypto exchanges are enhancing their monitoring to identify suspicious transaction patterns.
Several public and private agencies are working together to educate the public about scammer tactics and emotional manipulation. A computer security service called NINJIO has developed a cybersecurity awareness training video called “Everything Gone” that covers pig butchering. It’s about eight minutes long and it’s worth watching. The U.S. Secret Service is also posting bulletins on Bitcoin ATMs to warn people about pig butchering, and law enforcement agencies are advising the public on how to identify and avoid it.
It’s really important that the victim report the scam as soon as they realize they’ve been victimized, and it’s best if they make the report while they still have contact with the scammer. Authorities may be able to trace or freeze stolen funds that way. The more time passes, the less likely that law enforcement can step in and catch them, and the less likely the victim can recovery any losses. Reporting to the agencies listed above helps law enforcement agencies keep track of the scale of the operations and how they evolve over time. It can also assist in global efforts in fighting against the international networks of organized crime. These rings are run like a legitimate business, so they do have some visibility, but it’s still a lot of work to get them tracked and shut down.
What Can You Do?
I don’t recommend engaging with someone who contacts you out of the blue with a greeting that sounds like they know you. However, I have found that my own bizarre response has always prevented further conversation. Here are a few examples:
1
Unknown number: What ya doin?
Me: I’m just about at the house Are you sure they’re out of town?
No response
2
Unknown number, same number as above contact attempt: Hi, I’m Patty. This is my new number. Do you remember me?
Me: I think so. Were you the one that I was with when we almost got suspended from school?
No response
3
Unknown number: The weather tomorrow is ver good. Let’s go play a round of golf. It will not only relax us but also allow us to enjoy this sunnyday.
Me: We’re expecting snow here.
Unknown number: Sorry, I started sending teh wrong number. I hope I didn’t disturb you.
4, and this was my favorite. I was sitting waiting for a Cleveland Guardians game to start. It was eventually rained out, but we enjoyed the stadium experience anyway.
Unknown number: I’ve arrived where are you?
Me: I’m in the woods. I have the shovel, hurry up, the body is starting to stink.
No response
As you can see from these examples, the scammer only responded back when they thought I might engage. The other examples were just not going to produce a viable conversation. The lesson is that you don’t have to be polite to someone you don’t know. They’re not going to report you to the etiquette police, and your reputation isn’t going to suffer.
Your Turn
I’m not going to ask you if you’ve been scammed. It’s a painful, embarrassing experience. I do want to hear from you, though, if this has been helpful. If you think you’re involved in a scam, don’t report it here, go to the sources I mentioned above, and do it now! Sooner is always better.
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