“'Pig-butchering': The online scam that's raked in $75 billion and counting”

The “Pig butchering” scam is on the rise. Wired magazine reports it’s ensnaring unsuspecting targets to steal all of their money and operating at a massive scale thanks in large part to forced labor. It starts in an innocent sounding way.

According to Wired: Scammers cold-contact people on SMS texting or other social media, dating, and communication platforms. Often they’ll simply say “Hi” or something like “Hey Josh, it was fun catching up last week!” If the recipient responds to say that the attacker has the wrong number, the scammer seizes the opportunity to strike up a conversation and guide the victim toward feeling like they’ve hit it off with a new friend. After establishing a rapport, the attacker will introduce the idea that they have been making a lot of money in cryptocurrency investing and suggest the target consider getting involved while they can. Here’s the article.