What is pig slaughter scam?

You think you’re meeting a wonderful person who offers you a deal that seems absolutely genuine, but it ends up being a scam that takes all your money. This is how it works Pig slaughter or pig slaughter.

And don’t think that it appeared with difficulty. In 2021, the United States FBI received nearly 4,000 complaints related to the pig slaughter scam There was a loss of 429 million dollars.

But what is this scam? What is the modus operandi of scammers? Here we tell you what you need to know to be very, very careful.

pig slaughter scam

Probably the factor that differentiates this type of scam from others is emotional: This is an emotional scam that leads to investment fraud Which is generally related to cryptocurrency.

This is how it works. The scammer contacts a person and establishes an emotional connection with them within a short period of time. For example, you receive a message from a person who clearly has the wrong number or profile on the social network and the conversation starts from there.

The person presents himself as a good friend who you are interested in getting to know and plays the whole game until he gets it victim’s trust, This is the key.

Then it will talk about a great business that makes huge profits, offers quite reliable evidence and can even create web portals or applications that come across as trustworthy banking institutions .

Furthermore, when the victim invests, he can see his balance in real time and the money grow. In some cases they may even withdraw a small amount so that there is no doubt. As we mentioned above, it is usually about cryptocurrencies.

Once the scammers have taken all the money they think they can get from the victim, they disappear from the platform and are never seen again. The victim is left with nothing.

And it’s called pig slaughter because that’s how it operates. Scammers are not satisfied with just getting a little from the victim, they go for the whole pig and get away with it.

Victims are almost always vulnerable people: older adults, people with chronic health conditions, people with economic problems, etc. That’s why the consequences for victims are not limited to just the economic impact, But it also brings with it psychological consequences.

Where did the pig slaughter scam come from?

It all more or less started in China in 2020 and started as a regional scam which later spread all over the world.

This type of scam also began with the increased use of online dating apps and social media, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, experts consulted by Wired confirm that there is research that shows scam groups have been created in China as well. Scripts and manuals enable widespread pig slaughter scams, which can be perpetrated by inexperienced people or even victims of human trafficking.

The fight against this type of scam is complicated because tracking of stolen cryptocurrencies is still in its early stages.

In June 2021, Chinese police arrested more than 1,100 people suspected of using cryptocurrencies to launder illicit profits from a pig slaughter scam. At the same time, more than 170 criminal groups involved.

Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro closely monitored fake chat groups to identify fake investment sites.

Only in those groups of scammers did they estimate approximately Transactions worth $4 million took place between January and March 2023 alone.

What can we do to avoid pig slaughter scams?

Experts give several suggestions to avoid becoming a victim of this type of scam.

• Be very careful of unsolicited messages and group chats. Don’t interact with strangers on social media, even if they seem trustworthy.
• Always verify the identity of investment websites or applications as thoroughly as possible and with experts.
• Be careful with your personal information published on social networks.
• If there is an investment that has high returns and low risk, you better think twice.
• If you spot any signs of a possible scam like this, report it to your state’s cyber police so they can take it into consideration.

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