What is pig slaughter?

On Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that it had seized $225 million in cryptocurrency related to the pig massacre. Seizures involve funding from 400 victims worldwide, and as CNBC reports, it is the largest seizure of its kind.

Pig slaughter is a common online scam where cybercriminals gain the trust of their victims and then convince them to invest in fake crypto investment opportunities. It’s a cruel, rough cryptocurrency, but it can be very effective.

Such scams may involve elements of other scams we have written on Mashable before, such as tech support scams or romantic scams. In a typical example of pig slaughter, cybercriminals spend time gaining the trust of their victims, just as farmers may be fattening pigs before they can kill them. After building trust, the scam lures the victims into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency plans or similar “investment” opportunities. And if criminals have access to your financial information, they can completely eliminate your bank account.

This is a real international issue. Canada’s Ministry of Financial Protection and Innovation warned consumers that the pig slaughter scam “refers to the agricultural practices of fat pigs before the massacre, symbolizing how scammers used their previous false attention to make their victims “fat”.”

Since pig slaughter scams are now an international, billion-dollar industry, consumers should educate themselves about how these scams work and how to safely online.

How does a pig butcher work?

These confident scams may involve a variety of different technologies, but they usually prey on older Americans or lonely people who spend a lot of time online. The criminal may pose like a handsome man or a beautiful woman. If you are going to get a divorce, they will eagerly tell you about their own painful divorce. Many times, these criminals will become poses for American service workers or offshore oil rig workers. They send fake photos and loving messages, and victims often believe they have a real friendship or deep romantic relationship with the liar.

Over time, they convinced victims to invest their money in crypto assets or investments. They may show fake “proofs”, such as bank statements, to make the opportunity seem reasonable. Often, they invite you into an app or platform that displays impressive monetary gains, and the platform even looks very convincing. There is only one problem – while you can put money into the platform, you can never withdraw it.

Once they stole everything from the victim, they moved to the next one.

Usually, victims are 100% sure that they are dealing with a trusted friend, and their lives may be at risk even if they don’t continue to send money. That’s what makes these scams so insidious.

Who is responsible for slaughtering pigs?

Such scams are now happening on an industrial scale. There are entire scams in countries like India, the Philippines, and Myanmar, usually associated with international cartels, criminal organizations and militias.

Mashable previously reported sanctions against Myanmar warlords, seeing Chit Thu, U.S. officials linked to Cyberfraud and human trafficking networks. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Chit Thu and his militia, Karen National Army, run a multi-billion dollar scam center, built on forced labor. At these scam centers, teams of cybercriminals target Americans via phone, text, email, social media and dating apps.

This is why being alert to strangers’ phone calls, emails, texts and direct messages is so important.

As we have previously reported, wrong digital scam text is usually a test. If the victim responds, the scammers know that they may be more likely to be victimized in the future.

Pig slaughter develops over time

Remember that when people grasp the skills, the scammers are adaptive and change the technology. We reported in 2023 that a woman lost $450,000 in a slaughtering romance scam, and two years later, the crimes are still happening at an alarming rate.

In addition, the introduction of generative AI technology increases risks. Now, it’s relatively easy to create lifelike videos and audio. That handsome stranger sends you selfies and video messages, which may actually be a criminal who uses artificial intelligence to gain your trust.

To protect yourself from pig slaughter, be aware of warning signs, such as:

• A scammer may encourage you to move conversations from email or phone calls to messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal.

• Beware of time-sensitive investment opportunities; scammers will try to create a false sense of urgency.

• Be cautious about remittance requirements through Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

• When talking to strangers online, don’t assume they are telling the truth about their identity.

• Instead of “trust and validate”, try “don’t trust and validate”.

• Never buy crypto assets for the only person you meet online.

• Never download files or click on the links sent to you by strangers and unknowns.

• Be wary of strangers who convey overly likable messages or share sympathy stories about sick leave or similar tragedies.

• People who refuse to attend live video conferences or meet offline.

If you believe you have become a victim of a slaughter scam or similar program, you can report the incident to the FBI. Save any specific details, screenshots or transaction history to help identify hackers.

Is there a story about a scam or security breach that affects you? Tell us. e-mail [email protected] The subject line “Safety Net” or use this form. People from Mashable will get in touch.