U.S. state and federal investigators are being inundated with reports from people who’ve lost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in connection with a complex investment scam known as “pig butchering,” wherein people are lured by flirtatious strangers online into investing in cryptocurrency trading platforms that eventually seize any funds when victims try to cash out.
With social media being a huge influence on many people, there are scams that come along with that. “Pig Butchering” refers to people who use fake accounts into giving them money. The most common from of Pig Butchering is cryptocurrency scams. In most cases, cryptocurrency is not insured, so once you send that money, it’s gone forever. The scammers are known to send a text message to the victims about an Uber cancellation or a reminder from a complete stranger about meeting for coffee later that day. They try to find ways so the victim curious in some form to respond to their message. Once people respond to the text, conversation then follows and the scammers ask the victim to download “WhatsApp” where an attractive profile of the opposite gender greets the victim.
Some ways you can prevent you and others from falling for these types of scams are: do not respond to mysterious messages, do not fall for messages saying they need money because people will hunt them down and kill them. As well as do not give out personal information such as Date of birth, street address, and social security card. Always be cautious with messages saying their is a special opportunity from an investment on a huge turn around profit for you.
