Pig Butchering
Published On: March 28, 2025
Written by: Ben Atwater and Matt Malick
Online scammers are always creating new ways to dupe unsuspecting victims. Regular readers of our updates know that we take cyberfraud seriously. We see repeated cases of phishing, scareware, etc. among clients. Today we will bring your attention to an especially cruel swindle called “pig butchering,” which often falls under the category of a “romance scam.”
The name refers to the fattening of a pig before the slaughter. It is a “long con” in which the scammers often “meet” their victims on social media or dating apps but typically shift the dialogue to encrypted communication apps like WhatsApp, often conversing for weeks or even months as they seek to build trust.
After building a relationship with the victim, the scammer will typically mention their success in trading cryptocurrencies and offer to help the victim with their own trading strategy if they transfer funds to their preferred crypto-trading platform. The trading platform may look legitimate, but it is a spoof website, and the perpetrator is simply stealing the transferred funds.
This fraud may seem far-fetched but the FBI estimates that it cost Americans $4.6 billion in 2023, up from $3.3 billion in 2022. An academic study by University of Texas at Austin finance professor John Griffin estimated total global losses at $75 billion over the last four years. Last year, Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta took down millions of accounts linked to pig butchering swindles.
If you have any suspicion that someone is targeting you, a friend or family member for this type of scam, please let us know if we can help. In the meantime, here is some helpful advice to avoid falling prey to pig butchering.
- Be wary of people you meet on dating websites or social media, especially those who offer you unsolicited financial, investment, or cryptocurrency advice.
- Be cautious of unsolicited investment opportunities offered via phone, message, email, social media, or in person.
- Shield yourself from scenarios in which someone encourages you to open an account on a cryptocurrency trading platform and transfer funds from your bank account to invest in cryptocurrency projects.
- If you speculate on cryptocurrencies, do it through established websites to reduce the chance that scammers steal your funds.
- Never share personal financial information with individuals you have not met in person.
- Contact us to help research any proposed investment, investment firm, or anyone representing themselves to be a broker or other financial “expert.”
- Conduct due diligence searches via Internet search engines to attempt to identify any online reports flagging particular investment or cryptocurrency proposals as fraudulent.
- Request to review financial statements, annual reports, or audit results for any proposed investment.
- Warning signs that you are a victim of a scam include notifications, messages, or websites indicating that you have made large amounts of money in a short period of time.
- Red flags include perceived “friends” or romantic partners who you have met online but who you can never meet in person.
The frequency of these kinds of frauds is increasing by the day. Artificial intelligence is offering perpetrators more scalable platforms to commit fraud. You should not trust anyone on social media that you do not know personally. Always remember that no matter how a fraudster approaches you (and they do it in very convincing and elaborate ways), never give ANYONE any personal or account information without extensive verification. If you have ANY doubt, please call us.
