According to a recent study at the University of Texas at Austin, from January 2020 to February 2024, people lost more than $75 billion around the world to the scam of pig butchering.
Named after the practice of farmers fattening hogs before slaughter, victims are lured into fake crypto investments. Once victims send enough funds, the scammers disappear. Hence, the pig is slaughtered.
Victims routinely lose hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. And each story often begins as an online romance.
In this episode of Privacy Files we speak to Troy, a private investigator who specializes in exposing pig butchering scams.
Troy works for the non-profit organization called the Global Anti-Scam Organization.
To learn more:
https://www.globalantiscam.org/
Troy has his own pig butchering story to tell and it’s the reason he got involved in the fight to warn the public about this ruthless criminal activity.
This is so much more than just a story about another online scam. It’s also about organized crime and human trafficking.
Above all, the hope is that this interview helps you better understand a rapidly rising global scam and what to look out for to avoid becoming a victim.
Links Referenced:
https://time.com/6836703/pig-butchering-scam-victim-loss-money-study-crypto/