How to help protect against pig butchering scams

Pig butchering scams are an emerging type of fraud that can often begin with an innocent-looking “wrong number” text, before developing into a long-term scam that can leave victims investing their life savings in fraudulent investment opportunities.

These scams, frequently orchestrated by overseas criminal networks, have become a global issue, with billions of dollars being lost by victims worldwide.

What are pig butchering scams?

The pig butchering scam, also known as “Sha Zhu Pan”, derives its name from the way scammers treat their victims like "pigs" to be fattened up before the financial "slaughter."

Scammers use fake online personas with elaborate storylines to build deep, personal, and often intimate relationships with their targets, gaining their trust over time. Once the victim feels secure, they are convinced to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms, often seeing phony returns to lure them into making larger and more frequent investments.

Ultimately, the scammers disappear with their victims’ funds.

How do pig butchering scams work?

Pig butchering scams often follow this pattern: 

1. Initial Contact

Scammers often use “wrong number” text messages, social media, or dating apps to initiate contact with a target. They may pose as acquaintances, investors, or money managers, creating fake social media profiles to portray themselves as wealthy and successful.

2. Building Trust

Once scammers elicit a response from a target, they will look to move the conversation away from commonly used social media or dating platforms to WhatsApp, Telegram or other less monitored channels.

While communicating with the target, scammers will use social engineering tactics to establish trust and build an online relationship, sharing personal information, photos and stories to generate a false sense of intimacy, while also assessing the target’s financial position.

3. The Investment Pitch

Now that trust has been established, the scammer will introduce the target to a supposedly lucrative investment opportunity in cryptocurrency. They may assist the target in setting up a crypto wallet at a familiar cryptocurrency exchange, such as Coinbase or crypto.com, and suggest that they start off with a small investment of $5000.

4. Introduction of a Special Investment Platform

When the victim has the funds in their cryptocurrency wallet, the scammer will direct them to use a “special investment platform,” a seemingly legitimate website or application that is actually fraudulent and manipulated by the scammers.

After a period of time, scammers may fabricate images to show extraordinary returns on the initial investment.

5. High Pressure Tactics and the Promise of Greater Returns

Scammers may allow victims to withdraw a small portion of their investment to further build the victim’s confidence. However, if the victim becomes excited about their perceived success, the scammer will intensify pressure, pushing for more investments and promising greater returns.

6. The Endgame: Extracting Maximum Profit

When a victim’s investment pace slows or stops, scammers may become even more aggressive. They might claim investment losses and urge victims to make up the difference. If victims try to withdraw funds, scammers may demand excessive fees or taxes.

Once victims refuse to invest further, scammers will disappear, taking their victims’ money

Red flags to look out for:

• Be extremely wary of any unsolicited investment advice, particularly from someone you’ve only interacted with online.
• If someone you’ve been messaging with consistently declines to interact face-to-face in video chats, they likely aren’t the person from the profile photo.
• Be cautious if you are encouraged to download specific software to supposedly assist with transferring funds or purchasing crypto assets.
• Be wary of text messages or social media outreach from people you don’t know or have an in-person relationship with.
• Watch for emails/texts/phone calls:
  • With generic greetings.
  • From unfamiliar or suspicious sources with fake links (hover over them to ensure they are
    going to the correct website).

Tips to help protect yourself: 

• Say no to unsolicited calls, emails or text messages. If you’re unfamiliar with the caller or sender, do not reply, respond or communicate at all.
• Never give out any personal information, especially non-publicly available information such as account numbers, passwords, PINs or credit card numbers.
• Slow down and avoid any “urgent” requests. Be mindful of responding too quickly with personal or financial information.
• Review emails and URLs carefully. Emails and websites can look like they are from trusted companies, but if you review the email and URL carefully, you’ll notice a small difference like one extra letter, a period, or a .net instead of .com.
• If an investment deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Research any investment opportunity as well as the individuals or companies involved. Check for official credentials and check email addresses carefully to ensure they are legitimate.
• Although the most prevalent form of this scam currently involves cryptocurrency, this type of fraud is evolving daily. Be aware that any situation involving unsolicited contact from strangers or requests to send money to people you don’t know could be a scam.

The bottom line:

Pig butchering scams can have a devastating effect on victims, both financially and emotionally. By exercising caution when interacting with anyone you meet online and by thoroughly researching any investment opportunity, you can help stay safe from this emerging type of fraud.