What is the ‘pig butchering’ scam? How fake relationships lead to crypto theft

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A scam known as “pig butchering,” where scammers build fake relationships to steal money, is increasingly targeting victims through texts, dating apps, and social media.

Scammers often spend weeks or months gaining their victims’ trust by showering them with attention and flaunting a lavish lifestyle to appear successful. Once trust is established, they propose investment opportunities related to cryptocurrency, guiding victims to convert their cash into crypto through publicly known exchanges, ATMs, or digital wallet services.

In some cases, scammers direct victims to fake investment websites or digital wallets that look legitimate, even appearing in app stores. However, when victims attempt to withdraw their money, they find they cannot access it.

Wanderson Castilho, a digital forensics expert who helps people identify scams, explained the warning signs.

“When they are 24-7 available, there’s no type of people, you know, this must be a scam,” Castilho said. “And one day you always keep bringing that they fell in love right away. This is another, you know, red flag. And the last one, when they bring up money, this is definitely the red flag.”

Castilho said at least 90% of the time, victims never recover their money.

Experts advise anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to this type of scam to keep a record of all cryptocurrency information, including the wallet address associated with the scammer and all financial transactions.

Experts also recommend filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. You can file one here.