People around the world are losing millions through a “pig butchering” scam – but it’s got more to do with crypto than it does our porcine pals, writes Elena Siniscalco
What do a dark human trafficking industry in South East Asia, pigs and crypto have to do with you? More than you think. After all, the first rule of successful scams is that anyone could fall for it. And people across the world are.
Those who created it call it Shāzhūpán – “pig butchering”. The victim, like a pig, is lured in, fattened with the promise of fast cash, and then “butchered” when the scammer leaves with all their money.
Flocks of young, tech-savvy people are falling for it.
“Pig-butchering” originated in Asia and is still little known in Europe. Yet it has found ripe conditions here in the UK: amid a cost-of-living crisis, investment scams are on the rise. UK Finance defines the current level of fraud in the UK as “a national security threat”. And according to research from Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Brits aged 18-34 are twice as likely as other age groups to fall victim to financial scams. Blend this all, and you get a dangerous cocktail of online insecurity. A country full of pigs to butcher.
The consequences on people’s finances and wellbeing are dire. “Karen”, a UK-based victim, shared her story with City A.M. but asked to remain anonymous as her family and friends know…
