PIG BUTCHERING CYBERTHEFT SCAMS
Innocent Online Victims are Losing Billions Each Year
Pig butchering scams are one of the fastest growing types of criminal fraud. Scammers build a relationship with an individual, often online, and then manipulate that person into “investing” money in fake opportunities. The name “pig butchering” comes from the approach that the criminals “fatten you up” by gaining your trust before “butchering” you by taking your money.
1. Initial Contact. The scammer will usually reach out through social media, group messaging platforms, or dating apps. For the work from home scam, initial contact may happen if you click on what you believe is a legitimate advertisement for how to earn extra money from home. The scammer often makes initial contact while using a fake name and by referring to another person, who could be someone included in your friend group or someone completely fictitious. The introduction may start with language such as “I was talking with Maria and she suggested you are the kind of person who would probably be interested in the work she and I are doing together.” If you respond, the scammer has successfully made initial contact, and they may suggest you continue your conversation on WhatsApp or a private text exchange.
2. Building Trust. With contact made, the scammer moves to building trust, or “fattening up” the victim. The scammer will typically share personal stories, engage in longer conversations, and discuss a topic of interest to you – one that is likely reflected in your social media presence. When the scammer decides they have created some level of trust with you, they will move to the pitch.
3. Investment Pitch. What comes next depends on what type of pig butchering scam is happening. The types of scams are described below on this web page. In the investment scheme, the scammers may introduce an opportunity to buy cryptocurrency at cheap prices. In romantic schemes, the scammers will introduce a financial need with which they are personally struggling. In work from home schemes, the scammers will discuss how much they are making by working from home. During this important and detailed stage of the scheme, the scammers may share fake profits or account statements, phony testimonials, or “personal” pictures.
4. Getting Your Money. Once the pitch is made, the scammers encourage the victims to send money. This may be pitched as an investment, as a fee to create an online portal and set up an account to work from home, or in romantic schemes as money for a medical procedure or travel costs for the scammer to visit the victim. The scammer will ask for small amounts at first.
5. Increasing the Theft. With the victim having shown a willingness to send a small amount of money, scammers will escalate their requests for larger amounts. These requests may include tactics such as (a) showing the victim manipulated data and fake reports to show huge returns on the small initial investment, (b) sending time-sensitive offers with claims that a big opportunity is about to pass, (c) increasing the seriousness of the scammer’s family member’s fake medical condition, or (d) offering reasons the victim’s account is “locked” or may be suspended unless the victim send more money.
6. Disappearing Act. Once the scammer has gotten as much money as possible from the victim, the scammer considers that pig “butchered” and will cut off contact. The fraudulent investment website will be taken offline, and the victim will have no way to contact the scammer.
THREE COMMON PIG BUTCHERING SCAMS1. ROMANCE SCAMS. Scammers pose as potential romantic partners, typically on dating platforms. This scammer will ask for money and will identify a personal and specific need, such as a medical procedure for a family member.
2. INVESTMENT SCAMS. Victims are approached through social media or messaging apps with enticing investment opportunities, often in cryptocurrency or forex trading. The scammer may provide fake documents or screenshots to convince the victim of the investment’s legitimacy.
3. WORK FROM HOME SCAMS. Victims are approached either on social media or messaging apps or because they clicked on an online advertisement touting easy money that can be made by working from home. This scam is typically introduced with stories about how much money the scammer has made working from home and how the scammer may be able to get the victim the same opportunity if the victim acts now. The victim will be asked to invest a very small amount to set up an online portal or workstation. The victim will then be shown “account statements” that indicate the victim is making a lot of money for very little time spent. From there, the scam escalates, with different reasons why the victim must send more money. These reasons may include accounts that have gone into the negative and been locked, IRS obligations, etc.
HOW TO SPOT PIG BUTCHERING SCAMS
As with most scams, the criminals are successful by telling the victim what the victim already wants to believe. But there are several sure ways to spot a pig butchering scam:
1. Unsolicited contact: Unexpected messages from unknown numbers or social media accounts that promise a way to make money are almost certainly scams. Also, be careful on dating apps to verify that the contact is a real person.
2. A refusal to use FaceTime or real time video: Scammers cannot appear live on video, so they will always have a reason they cannot FaceTime or engage in live video interaction with their victims. Especially with romance scams, if the person expressing interest will only send pictures, you are probably being scammed.
3. Too-good-to-be-true investments: Claims of guaranteed high returns with little or no risk are red flags. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
4. Pressure to invest quickly: Legitimate opportunities rarely require rushed decisions.
5. Romantic interest from strangers: Be cautious of online suitors who quickly profess strong feelings and then ask for money.
6. Unregistered investment platforms: Check if investment websites or apps are registered with official regulators. If they are not registered, they are not legitimate.
7. Fake online work platforms: Scammers may use the names of real companies and tell the victim they are doing SEO (search engine optimization) work for the company. But if the domain name of the website the victim is pointed to does not identify the same company, that is a red flag. A few ways to ensure a web site is legitimate is to check the domain name for spelling mistakes, look for a padlock symbol to the left of the website address to ensure users can securely browse the site, check the domain age to see if the site is new Whois Lookup, Domain Availability & IP Search – DomainTools, and inspect the SSL/TSL certificate by clicking on the icon next to the URL and then clicking “security” or “connection is secure”.
8. Difficulty withdrawing funds: Be suspicious if you can’t easily cash out your supposed investment returns.
9. A refusal to communicate publicly: Scammers will quickly ask their victims to move online conversations to WhatsApp or a similar platform. While many legitimate conversations occur on these platforms, be wary of a stranger who contacted you without an invitation and who then asks you to move the conversation somewhere more private.