Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer
Brief news
- Americans are losing thousands of dollars to a fraudulent scheme known as “pig butchering” scams, which involve flattery and false bonding to deceive victims.
- The FBI’s Internet Crime Report shows that losses from investment schemes reached a record high in 2023, with a significant increase in fraudulent crypto investments.
- Victims of pig butchering scams often meet their fraudsters through dating apps, and the recovery of stolen funds is challenging due to the multi-jurisdictional nature of these cases.
Detailed news
Increased numbers of Americans are losing thousands of dollars to a fraudulent scheme that requires weeks or months to execute.
“Pig butchering” scams are named after the notion that fraudsters employ flattery and false bonding to “fatten up” their victims. The strategy has resulted in the accumulation of billions of plundered funds, particularly in the form of cryptocurrencies.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Report indicates that losses from investment schemes reached a new record high in 2023, with a 38% increase. Fraudulent crypto investments comprised $3.96 billion of the $4.57 billion in funds reported misappropriated.
“Carina, a victim of pig butchering who requested to be identified solely by her first name, met her scammer through the dating app Bumble, where he spent approximately six weeks courting me.”
She encountered her fraudster on the dating app Bumble, and she had previously disclosed that her scammer claimed to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle and invest significantly in cryptocurrencies. The fraudster persuaded her to deposit; a total of $152,000 on a website that was designed to resemble the legitimate crypto exchange Kraken after months of exchanging messages.
Ultimately, Carina was able to locate her funds to a transaction in Thailand. She provided law enforcement with the information, but her misappropriated funds have yet to be recovered.
According to a report from the United Nations, coerced labor is frequently employed in Southeast Asia to perpetrate pig butchering schemes. The multi-jurisdictional footprints of these cases present a challenge for law enforcement in capturing the stolen funds, despite the fact that blockchain firms such as Chainalysis have successfully recovered millions of dollars in stolen crypto.
Source : CNBC News
