About a decade ago, an online dating romance scam began to spread internationally as a relatively new and unreported crime. Referred to as “Pig Butchering,” the scam combines digital relationships, cryptocurrency, and a victim’s emotional vulnerabilities to drain targets’ finances. Victims are often isolated or hide their online relationships from family and friends until the predator leaves behind broken hearts and empty bank accounts.
The scam originated in China, where it’s known as the Chinese phrase Shāz Hū Pán, which literally means “pig butchering.” A ring of fraudsters searches dating and social media sites for victims, and then a member of the fraud ring will begin sending direct messages.
Another way scammers find victims is through text messages. The scammer sends multiple “cold” text messages to “wrong” phone numbers to see who responds. The “wrong” number or mistaken contact “attempt” is just a lure to lower a victim’s mental defenses against being contacted randomly by a stranger. A scammer may also add identity theft to their scheme and impersonate a long-lost contact or an attractive stranger.
Once a conversation is initiated, the scammer usually takes a long time to build and cultivate trust and relationships with their targets. The scammers aim to convince their targets to open an “account” on a fake online cryptocurrency exchange. These websites are designed to look like legitimate investment sites and platforms, but they are controlled by a ring of fraudsters.
The scammer may even “trade” alongside the victim and may initially allow the victim to withdraw some initial profits as “proof.” During this honeymoon phase, the scammer may begin to work in tandem with their team to network with vulnerable members of the victim’s friends and family groups. As the victim sends more money to the online “exchange,” later withdrawals will become more and more difficult until the scammer decides to cut off access completely. Even then, a scammer will request fees or additional investments to unlock access to the victim’s stolen funds until all remaining victim savings are depleted.
The transnational crime syndicates behind these schemes are constantly mining (large searches and analysis of relationships) for new targets. In April 2023, the US Justice seized $112 million linked to pig butchering, which totaled less than 5 percent of victim-reported losses the prior year. In 2022, investment fraud accounted for the most losses ($3.31 billion) reported by the public to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3). If you or someone you know is a victim, the Federal Bureau of Investigation requests you visit its cryptoguard website, contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it to IC3.gov. In your complaint, please reference “Pig Butchering PSA.”
