What is Pig Butchering?

September 2024 | Nextworks

The “pig butchering” scam is a type of long-term investment fraud where scammers gradually build trust with their victims before convincing them to invest increasingly larger amounts of money into fraudulent schemes, often involving cryptocurrency.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how it typically works:

1. Initial Contact: Scammers reach out to potential victims through social media, dating apps, or messaging platforms, often pretending to be someone looking for friendship or romance.


2. Building Trust: Over days, weeks, or even months, the scammer engages in regular, friendly conversations to build a relationship. They might share personal stories, photos, and details to appear genuine.


3. Introduction to Investment: Once trust is established, the scammer introduces the idea of investing in a lucrative opportunity, often showing fake success stories or falsified dashboards that display impressive returns.


4. Encouraging Small Investments: Initially, they encourage the victim to make small investments, which appear to grow quickly. This is designed to build the victim’s confidence in the scheme.


5. Increasing Contributions: As the victim sees apparent returns, they are persuaded to invest larger sums of money. The scammer might even suggest borrowing money or liquidating assets to invest more.


6. The Scam Unfolds: Eventually, the scammer disappears with all the invested funds, leaving the victim with significant financial losses.

The name “pig butchering” comes from the analogy of fattening a pig before slaughtering it, reflecting how scammers “fatten” their victims with false promises before taking everything.

---

 Watch John Oliver (HBO) as he details this scam in action. (Warning: Adult Language)

[ Return to News & Commentary home. ]

[ Return to Nextworks IT home. ]