Crypto "pig butchering" scam

David Barrett dbarrett at expensify.com
Thu Feb 10 07:15:25 PST 2022


In short, there are Chinese criminal organizations that have produced fake
crypto exchanges, who reach out to men and women via dating apps as well as
just randomly texting people or hitting them up on WhatsApp.

I've seen it myself many times, some suspiciously attractive Chinese woman
who just casually mentions that they also invest in crypto. They'll talk
for a while without asking for anything or pushing anything, they'll
present themselves as highly successful business people, maybe even send
you gifts to show that they are real. They will research your town and make
references to local landmarks and restaurants and such to make it seem as
if they are there.

Eventually they will shift the conversation towards crypto investing, which
is where I've always dropped out of the conversation because something
seems like an obvious scam but it wasn't quite sure how.  But apparently
they will then show you their portfolio on this fake crypto exchange, and
then encourage you to invest alongside them.  You will see your portfolio
supposedly make a bunch of money, even though your money is gone and you'll
never get it back.

Bit by bit they'll encourage you to invest more, and then something will go
wrong in their life where they suddenly need your help, and then as a sign
of commitment to the relationship will ask you to temporarily make a large
investment with the expectation that you get it back immediately.

For example, they might claim that due to some kind of regulation or
something, if they don't get $100,000 invested into this exchange very
quickly, they will lose far far more. You don't know that they are actually
collaborating with this fake exchange, so you think it's just all a legit
thing, and you also think that you've been making a bunch of money along
the way, and also that they are highly successful business person as well.

Anyway, it's called the pig butchering scam because they will spend a long
time "fattening you up" before going in for the kill.

The technological component to the scam, along with the highly organized
operation behind it and global scale I think make it pretty interesting.

David



On Thu, Feb 10, 2022, 5:36 AM Shawn K. Quinn <skquinn at rushpost.com> wrote:

> On 1/31/22 20:37, David Barrett wrote:
> > Super interesting video:
> >
> >
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KSVKOaZL2to&ab_channel=inspiroue
> > <
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KSVKOaZL2to&ab_channel=inspiroue
> >
>
> Executive summary, in text format?
>
> --
> Shawn K. Quinn <skquinn at rushpost.com>
> http://www.rantroulette.com
> http://www.skqrecordquest.com
>
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