The human mind is a cradle for life changing inventions. Being blessed with the attributes of critical and creative thinking, mankind has managed to revolutionize the world. However, there are always two sides to a story and this blessing of an intelligent mind has turned into a curse in the form of fraudulent schemes. Here, ingenuity turns into manipulation. Ever since the turn of the 21st century, these schemes have been linked to the various technological advancements of modern times. One such modern marvel in finance and technology which is marred by its association with scams is cryptocurrency. Additionally, a specific type of scam which exploits technology and human emotions is the Pig Butchering Scam. Let’s dive deeper in the execution of this scam and the hidden truths that it withholds.
The Pig Butchering Scam is an online investment fraud in which scammers engage in online relationships with the victims in order to induce a false sense of trust over a considerable period of time. By establishing themselves as reliable and genuine, the scammers encourage victims to invest in cryptocurrency platforms, which unbeknownst to the victims, are controlled by the scammers themselves. This enables them to extract as much money as possible from the victims who are left helpless due to the unregulated nature of these cryptocurrency platforms. This process also explains the scam’s infamous name as the victims are likened to ‘pigs’ being fattened before slaughter where the fattening is the establishment of trust and the butchering is the siphoning of money from them. This scam capitalizes on the vulnerability of humans around people they trust, much like other fraudulent schemes. Hence, it becomes even more crucial to be recognized in the early phases before the damage is done. Although its ingenuity and clever execution makes it often hard to recognize, the malicious intent can be detected through a common pattern that has been observed on several occasions since its advent in the late 2010’s.
Pig butchering is generally associated with a three-step process - ‘Accidental contact’, ‘Relationship building’ and ‘Fake Crypto Investment’. The scam usually begins on a social media or dating website where the scammer with an attractive profile picture sends the victim a simple “hi” which is followed up with a genuine apology of having contacted the wrong person. In some more elaborate versions, the message is a detailed intriguing story about the fake persona of the scammer which aims to trick the victim into thinking that the scammer is a kind hearted and successful person. The story which portrays the scammer as a proficient person is mostly about a charity gala and the good deeds of a scammer. This initiates the ‘Accidental Contact’ and enables the scammer to extend the hand of friendship by capitalizing on the accepting and kind nature of a person which in this case is the victim.
Now that the foundation for a so-called “friendship” has been laid, the scammer progresses to the ‘Relationship Building’ phase of the scam. By asking the victim about their daily lives, the scammer tries to obtain as much information about the victim as possible under the pretext of a casual conversation. This later shifts to conversations about their professional lives and helps the scammer portray themselves as a wealthy individual who profited through cryptocurrency investments. Finally, the scammers enter the ‘Fake Crypto Investment’ stage in which they use the information collected about the victim through initial and prolonged contact to manipulate them into believing their story and investing on their platform. The innocent victims generally agree to invest small amounts initially which kick-starts the monetary gain for the scammers. By sending fake screenshots of high returns or even sending the victim a small amount of money to withdraw the scammer fully convinces them about the legitimacy of the crypto investments and succeeds in achieving further investments for their platform. Over a period of time the scammer keeps encouraging the victims who under the false illusion of more wealth succumb to the scam when the platform along with the scammer suddenly disappears one day.
The scam is a harsh attack on a person’s finances and well-being but, as it turns out, it is more cruel on the scammers themselves. The shocking truth that lies behind the scam, that has spread around the world like wildfire, is that there are actually two victims of the scam with the perpetrators themselves being victims of mass human trafficking schemes. Lured by the promise of a lucrative call centre job the victims are sent to foreign lands usually in South East Asia where they are forced by large crime syndicates to perform the Pig Butchering Scam. The victims are helpless as they have no way to return to their homes hence are tied in this process of unwillingly scamming others.
To conclude, the scam truly reflects how the natural behaviour of humans of being gullible is exploited, by both the crime syndicates and the perpetrators of the scam. It reveals the fact that there exist multiple intricate layers within a scam and how no one is completely safe on the internet. The Pig Butchering Scam also serves as a warning to the future generations about the dangers of advancements in technology which have sadly been used in a malicious manner. The existence of such scams conveys the message that “everyone is a stranger on the internet” and encourages people to use the internet safely.