A pig butchering is a gradual monetary scam where (seemingly random) victims are lured into making increasing monetary contributions in phony investments. It is akin to fattening a pig before slaughter, hence the name. It originated in Southeast Asia during the pandemic, where supposed perpetrators are victims themselves, often held, and tortured by gangs to perpetuated this vicious cycle.
I, myself, get many of these seemingly “innocent” (text, whatsapp, wechat) messages, e-mails, and pings (social chat platforms).
- Text messages:
“Dr. X, can I make an appointment with you today,” to “Mr. X, I heard your salmon is really good. Can I order some and other seafood too.” – in Chinese.
– these I use as my daily learning of the language, then block, report and delete.
- emails:
“I saw your profile on XXX. Please reply, to learn more about the position” to “We have carefully considered your application and will now proceed to administer an interview for you. In order for us to move ahead with the selection process, please reply to this email to confirm your details.”
– these I vet cautiously. Check for typos, grammatical errors, search for that person, company info, company email suffix etc.
email work
- Pings on social chat platforms:
“bitcoin trading circle”– these I block, report and delete.
social chat platform
text messages
Some are really easy to spot and ignore (ie. the Nigerian Prince). Some are pretty sophisticated and well-executed. Protect yourself. Research. Look and then look again. If it’s too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Your inner alarm bells should be going off. Don’t ignore it. Don’t fall victim.
Here’s John Oliver covering the issue:
Read more: Wikipedia | Crypto | Time | Malwarebytes | Finra | Aura
