Pig Butchering Scams – A Pig-ture Perfect Plot to Steal Your Money

Investment scams, known as “Pig Butchering,” have become increasingly common. In fact, according to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans reported losing $5.7 billion to investment scams in 2024 and victims lost more than $9,000 on average. The term “pig butchering” refers to the agricultural practice of fattening pigs before slaughter, demonstrating how scammers “fatten” their victims with false attention before exploiting them financially. In these scams, fraudsters gain their victim’s trust over time and deceive them into investing in fake crypto assets or other fraudulent investment opportunities. Don’t fall for it!

Here’s how “Pig Butchering scams” work.

The Set Up: This scam gives new meaning to “never trust people you meet on the internet.” A malevolent mix of investment, romance, phishing, and imposter scams, this ruse starts with a scammer contacting their victim through text messages, dating apps, or social media

The Trap: The scammer gains the trust of their victim with steady conversation that builds emotional attachment, often sharing altered or stolen photos that portray a false sense of reality. As the relationship builds, the scammer may show off an affluent lifestyle to appear successful, which often leads to a conversation about investing. Once the scammer has earned their victim’s trust, they propose a lucrative investment opportunity through crypto.

The Hook: The scammer offers to train their victim on how to use crypto and helps set up online accounts. They encourage the victim to convert their cash into crypto currency via a legitimate exchange like an ATM or digital wallet service. Then, the fraudster instructs the victim to transfer the crypto into a fake platform designed to appear and perform like a legitimate trading platform which promises remarkable returns.

The Bite: Once the victim has invested in the fake platform, the scammer often requests more funds and shuts down the platform to steal the victim’s money.

How to spot the scam.

• Unsolicited messages. Watch out for unsolicited text messages or emails. Be cautious about responding to phone numbers outside your contact list and try to verify information about new people you meet on the internet. Don’t respond to messages you aren’t sure about.
• Urgency. Beware of urgent, unusual, or persistent requests.
• Isolation. Scammers try to isolate victims so they don’t tell other people about the circumstances who might alert them that it’s a scam. They appeal to the victim’s emotions to illicit fear or shame.

What to do if you’ve fallen victim to a scam.

Take the following steps:

• Contact the financial institution (bank or credit card company) you used to send the money and let them know what happened.
• Report the fraud to the FTC at ftc.gov.
• Alert any other financial institutions you may use, the three credit bureaus, Social Security, and the IRS that you were a victim of a scam and your personal information may have been compromised.

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We’re committed to keeping you informed about the latest scams and ways to protect your money and personal information. For more information about valuable tools to help you monitor your account activity, visit our website, stop by your nearest office, or call Customer Care at 888.307.5887.