What are pig butchering scams, and how do you stay safe?

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.” Shakespeare wrote these momentous lines for the play As You Like It. Humans are relational, story-driven creatures who desire resolution and hope—and this aspiration to live a purposeful, fulfilling life of love is ultimately God-given.

However, modern scams exploit our innate desire to live thrilling stories. No fraud better accomplishes this than the “pig butchering” scam. So, how do these new cons work, and how can you protect yourself?

How do pig butchering scams work?

Here’s how they work: The scam’s target receives a wrong number text, for example, “Hi, is this Jim?” The mark responds with something like, “Sorry, wrong number. This is Greg.” The scammer might reply, “Oh, so sorry. I can be such a clutz. By the way, do you also happen to live in New Jersey?” From there, they mimic the start of a natural conversation between strangers. Alternatively, the mark might receive a private message on social media like this BBC reporter did: “Hey, I wanted to ask you a question.” “Sure.” “Can we introduce ourselves to each other?” The message came from the Instagram account of an attractive woman named “Jessie.”

From these or other seemingly innocuous starting points, the scammer will develop a relationship with the mark, sometimes texting for hours a day. They will continue like this, usually developing romance and flirtation, for up to several months. The mark will grow affection and attachment to the fake person, dreaming with them of a new life together.

Finally, they’ll tie investment into cryptocurrency as part of the narrative. For example, “You can move to Colorado with me with all the money we’ll make from crypto! I’ve already made $10,000.” At this point, their sophistication lies in how they abuse cryptocurrency. They’ll do things like send the target money or make it seem like they can access the funds in their account to make them feel secure. Of course, they’re not—the scammers have taken everything.

It’s called pig butchering because the scammers are fattening up the mark for slaughter, taking weeks or months to create the perfect story as a cover for stealing money. They lure in with the hope of a fantastical but convincing love story between strangers and cunningly tie cryptocurrency into the narrative. The psychological exploitation is breathtaking.

Who’s behind the pig butchering scams?

The effects are devastating. After losing everything, one father took his own life. He’s not the only one to have committed suicide in the wake of losing his life’s savings (as well as going into mountains of debt). Experts estimate pig butchering scams to have raked in around $75 billion, far more than the FBI initially estimated. But who runs these appalling frauds?

Experts say most are run by highly organized gangs operating out of Southeast Asia in countries like Laos, Thailand, and the Philippines. These gangs bring in around 3 Trillion per year in revenue—mostly from drug sales. The people texting you, however, aren’t the criminals. They’re essentially modern-day slaves.

For instance, in Myanmar alone, the UN estimates that around 120,000 people, primarily Chinese nationals, are held in compounds working grueling hours texting would-be marks without a feasible way of escape. According to several victims, they were beaten if they didn’t meet a daily goal of bringing in tens of thousands of dollars from their scams.

How do you stay safe from pig butchering scams?

These scams usually work more effectively against older folks who haven’t adapted to the lightning-fast development of social media and the resulting connectivity and anonymity. For example, the inability to trust a photograph as an indisputable fact is a relatively recent development. Now, almost anyone can use AI to generate ultra-realistic, falsified pictures or, as the scammers often do, download photos from a real person’s socials and reuse them.

So, the solution is simple. Realize that folks can manipulate photos, audio, and even video and are willing to spend months investing in a fake, romantic relationship with you—all to steal your savings. Social media and the internet aren’t authentic places, and photos are no longer evidence of fact.

Put your hope in the right story

Deception isn’t new. Satan led the first humans astray to sin through deceit. Fraudsters aren’t new, either. Their methods have changed over the decades and years, with pig-butchering a particularly effective and heartbreaking example, but heartbreaking deceptions are as old as humanity.

Our first response should be to show compassion toward the victims of pig-butchering scams and the modern-day slaves in Asia making it run. If you think you’ve been targeted by a scam, share it with a friend and get help. I suspect the shame and embarrassment, just as much as losing one’s life savings, leads to such drastic lows that many victims contemplate suicide. So, hold friends accountable and remember that, with near absolute certainty, a stranger reaching out online is not who they seem. Instead of an attractive, single man or woman looking for romance, they’re most likely a bedraggled modern-day slave in Southeast Asia.

The greatest way to combat the threat of scams like this is to put your life’s story into the hands of the trustworthy, all-powerful, loving God. Make your story thrilling by responding to your highest calling and putting your hope in Christ. Grow into the kind of person who hopes in the Lord rather than vain fantasies like great wealth, romance, or even adultery.

While human love will fail, God’s love never will. As Paul writes, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)