The term “Pig Slaughter” refers to the act of deceiving an unsuspecting victim. “Pig,” as scammers persuade people to invest large sums of money with the promise of a high return.
In Santa Clara County, California, District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office, which runs a task force from multiple agencies to combat technological crimes, explained the practice. “The scammers ‘fatten the pig’ by making the victim think they are investing in something and then having them transfer money into cryptocurrency,” Rosen said.
Once the criminals ‘fatten’ the victim, they steal the money from their digital wallets, Rosen added.
Easy and high-risk.
The pig-slaughtering operation has a simple yet effective strategy. Rosen CNN reported that millions of text messages and social media messages are sent every day to unwitting victims, often containing innocuous phrases like: “Hi how are you?”
The scammers operating under false identities build a relationship with victims over weeks or months before suggesting they should invest in cryptocurrencies.
One method used to convince the victim that the scammer has made huge profits from cryptocurrencies and that they need not miss out on this opportunity.
The criminals then urge the victim to send more money and even provide fake financial statements to make it appear that they have earned huge returns on their investments.
“This is where ‘pig-fattening’ comes in,” Rosen said. Finally, “you start to get suspicious. You try to contact the person you met online and ask for your money back. [But] The person has already taken advantage of you.”
Watch out for the holidays
Rosen said scammers find the holiday season especially profitable as they can take advantage of lonely people.
And while the initial approach may not seem complicated, Rosen’s team has investigated scams conducted overseas, such as in India, Cambodia, and China, that are highly sophisticated.
“They have been trained by psychologists to figure out the best way to manipulate people,” He said. “You’re up against people who use different psychological methods to make you vulnerable and entice you to part with your money.”
By simply being aware and vigilant, online predators can be avoided, experts say.
“Be very careful when you go on social media and dating apps and someone starts to develop a relationship with you and wants you to start investing,” Fisher, from the FBI, said. “Don’t let yourself be fooled.”
The ‘Other Bell’
The FBI said that scams involving well-known retail stores have risen this holiday season as online shoppers spend billions of dollars. Amazon.
“Online criminal scams are only limited by the imagination and have perfect timing,” ” Fisher said.
One form of fraud is when “someone calls you and pretends to be from Amazon or another wholesale distributor, and says there’s a problem with your credit card,” Fisher added. The Scammer then asks for a new credit card number.
Another variation of the Amazon Scam calls potential victims to inform them that their account has been flagged for suspicious purchases, leading to the suspension of purchasing privileges. The The victim is then asked to make a payment by credit card to restore the account.
“Sometimes they even threaten to report you to the police for your purchase,” Fisher said. “Another dead giveaway. Don’t fall for this scam.”
The company also said it had taken down thousands of online phishing sites and phone numbers related to phishing scams and referred potential suspects to law enforcement around the world.
“Scammers pretending to be Amazon put consumers at risk