The Pig Butchering Scam.

In the crypto world, there are many types of scams. For example, accidentally clicking on a wrong link, or that you fell for a rug pull. A new scam has recently been added. This one is called the "Pig butchering scam. This scam combines two types of fraud: investment fraud and dating fraud. These two methods of fraud are not new. But this combination is now being used in the crypto sphere as well. Not only do you have a broken heart, but also an empty wallet.

What is the Pig Butchering scam?

The pig butchering scam is a fraud whose origin lies in Asia. In Chinese, this is called Sha Zhu Pan. Users of dating apps and sites are induced to participate in certain fraudulent investments. Examples include  financial investments, gambling and other fake investments. 

Scammers use sophisticated ways to scam victims. The scammers "fatten up the victims and then slaughter them''. In traditional methods of fraud, the scammers target middle-aged divorced people. In crypto fraud, it is not middle-aged people who are victimized, but rather young people. The scammers specifically target young people who have an interest in blockchain and crypto.

The scammers follow a sophisticated plan. These scammers create an account and pretend to be rich, interested and handsome. In this way, the scammers first try to gain your trust. This phase is considered to be the "fattening of the pig. When the scammers reach a certain emotional level of the victim, these scammers will try to entice a person to invest in a project. The final stage is to take away the victim's money. In this final stage, scammers try to obtain as much money as possible through these fake investments. This last phase is also known as the slaughter phase.

The steps

Before a victim actually transfers money to the scammer, the scammer must first gain the victim's trust. A close emotional bond must be established. The following patterns may occur. Note that this is not a standard checklist of scammers. Therefore, beware if you are dealing with users who want you to invest in a project.

• At one point, he/she is asked what your material goals and dreams are, and is then told that you are not dreaming big enough and that they can help you with your goals and dreams.
• The scammer has studied finance, and has an uncle or professor who taught him/her how to invest.
• When you are supposedly forced by the exchange platform to pay high amounts of (transaction) costs, the scammer offers very nicely to "help" you, for example by paying half for of the (transaction) costs. 
• There is talk of spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars as if it were nothing.
• Usually an investment or trading platform is frequently brought up in the contact.
• The scammer acts as if he/she has a lot of experience in trading, and knows exactly when is a good time to get in or get out.
• The scammer is the owner of a well-run business.
• Finally, it is notable that the scammer always has an excuse not to meet in real life. Think corona, bad experiences with exes, etc. 

Figures

Most of the victims come from Asia.

Money was a big incentive of victims for falling for the scam.

One of the big motivators was helping others (parents, children, etc.).

Variation in the victims' age