The threat posed by online scams has increased significantly in recent years. There are now more ways than ever before to find yourself the victim of online fraud. One of the more sophisticated examples is known as pig butchering.
Pig butchering is part romance scam and part investment scam. It combines the fake relationship of the former with the fake promises of wealth associated with the latter. For many victims, it is an expensive and painful process.
So what exactly is pig butchering, and how can you avoid falling victim to it?
What Is Pig Butchering?
Pig butchering is a sophisticated online scam that relies on social engineering and fake cryptocurrency exchanges. It gets its name from the fact that the victim is first fattened up with a fake romantic relationship before being butchered using fraudulent investment advice.
The perpetrators are known for being very patient, slowly building up trust, and then encouraging the victim to invest increasingly large amounts. The victim is made to believe that they are making money when in fact, anything that they deposit cannot be recovered.
How Does Pig Butchering Work?
Pig butchering is an elaborate scam with many variations. The exact steps vary but it typically occurs as follows:
Victims of the scam are initially contacted via social media, chat apps, and dating websites. The perpetrator is invariably an attractive person of the opposite sex. The photos and information used are entirely…
