The world of international criminality seems to be pretty busy as of late. The FBI, just weeks after issuing a warning about the rise of sextortion rings, is now cautioning Americans against falling for “pig butchering” scams.
This type of con job has been going on for decades, but now, it is increasing in prevalence as the illicit operations become more sophisticated in their use of social media and other types of technology to prey on those who might be looking for love in all the wrong places.
However, unlike the sextortion rackets, which are typically based in West Africa, the pig butchering scams appear to be based in South Asia. Those involved are raking in massive sums of money by persuading unsuspecting people into making substantial financial investments in bogus schemes, mostly in cryptocurrencies.
A recent report highlighted the story of Barry May, a retired insurance adjuster from Mississippi, whose story provides a sad example of the impact that pig butchering scams can inflict on people who fall victim to them.
She called herself Anna, and she reached out to Barry May over social media.
“It was on Facebook, was an Asian woman that supposedly lived in New York, on Fifth Avenue,” he said. “And so we just started chatting.”
Soon, he said, Anna was sending explicit photos. May, a divorced and retired insurance adjuster living in Mississippi, was smitten. She told him they could be together, but first she needed a favor.
Her aunt, she said, was holding $3 million of her money. She needed May to invest in cryptocurrency, so her aunt “would release that money to her and then she could come to me and we could get married.”
She promised huge returns. He sold property and liquidated his 401(k), sending the woman more than $500,000 — his life savings. An account on a website appeared to show his holdings.
He was about take out a loan to send more, until one day he got a call from an FBI agent. “They said this is a major fraud situation, and I’m not the only one.”
It turned out May, 62, had gotten caught up in an increasingly common internet scam — and also a new FBI initiative to protect people from financial ruin.
This is a textbook case of a pig butchering scam. The FBI has issued a warning cautioning Americans against falling victim to these schemes.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning people to be on the lookout for a growing scam with a bloody name.
Known as “Sha Zhu Pan,” a Chinese phrase that loosely translates to “pig butchering,” the scam involves cryptocurrency, or digital currency that’s exchanged through a computer network and not through a financial institution like a bank. In the case of the scams, the “pig” is the victim who is being primed for “butchering” – meaning they’ll be bled dry of their money.
Those perpetrating these scams are named for their methodical approach to “fattening up” their victims before financially “slaughtering” them. The operations can be quite complex, often involving fake profiles on social media and dating sites. Sometimes, the “pig butcher” can spend months, or even years, to prime their victims into participating in faux investments. Scammers invest a considerable amount of time and resources to appear legitimate. Sometimes they might even allow their victims to withdraw small amounts of money early on to build confidence and make it easier for the scammer to convince them to part with their hard-earned money.
Avoiding such scams might not be easy for those who are lonely and less aware of how the online world works. However, it is important to maintain a level of diligence when interacting with others online – especially if the situation is a romantic one. Pig butchers, like other types of scammers, prey upon the emotions of their targets, manipulating them into believing the thief is an authentic love interest. It is best to verify each person one is communicating with before allowing their feelings to lead them into the type of nightmare May faced.
