The multibillion-dollar scam known as “pig-butchering,” once treated as a consumer-fraud issue, has crossed a new threshold and is prompting concerns over national security.
In a podcast, Chainalysis head of national security intelligence, Andrew Fierman, and former prosecutor Erin West, founder of cross-sector anti-scam nonprofit Operation Shamrock, discussed how pig butchering is becoming a threat to national security.
“So if anybody is touching money in any way, you’re part of this. So you need to be prepared to understand the threat and the gravity of what’s happening on a national security level,” West said, highlighting the importance of education and awareness in combating crypto scams.
A pig-butchering scam is a long-term fraud strategy in which criminals attempt to establish trust with a victim, often through romance or friendship, before steering them into a fake cryptocurrency investment platform and draining their funds.
The growing scale of pig-butchering scams
In the podcast, the duo discussed how fraud rings across Southeast Asia operate dormitory-style scam compounds where trafficked workers contact unsuspecting victims, foster trust through romance and then push them into fake crypto investments with the goal of draining funds.
In 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) seized about $112 million in crypto linked to pig-butchering scams. In a February report, Chainalysis said that pig-butchering scams increased by almost 40% year-over-year in 2024, while overall crypto scam revenue exceeded $9.9 billion.
In addition, one under-reported area of pig-butchering is that victims are often hit twice. The duo said in the podcast that after the initial scam, victims sometimes received follow-up contact from fake recovery firms claiming to assist in recovering the money.
“Once this happens to you, you will be put on a list […] and you are even more likely to get hit up again,” West said.
Fierman and West said these scams have matured into a transnational crime model, blending human trafficking, money laundering and crypto rails, making them far more complex than your everyday fraud.
Fierman suggested that blockchain’s transparency offers an opportunity for regulators, exchanges and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to disrupt the scams.
“One of the benefits of the blockchain, at least as the mechanism for this, is that there is potential opportunity for disruption if it’s enabled right,” he said. “And the transparency of the blockchain gives that opportunity to potentially disrupt at the point of cash out.”
How authorities are stepping in
With the scams having a much wider impact, governments are stepping in. On Nov. 12, the DOJ announced the formation of a “Scam Center Strike Force” to target Chinese-linked transnational criminal organizations behind crypto investment fraud in Southeast Asia.
Simultaneously, regional law enforcement departments are enforcing freezes and sanctions to combat the issue. On Aug. 27, law enforcement in Asia Pacific (APAC) collaborated with Chainalysis, OKX, Tether and Binance to freeze $47 million in pig butchering funds.
The strategy is not simple, but it is clear. This is to disrupt the on-ramp and off-ramp points for scammers, sanction the facilitators and build private-public partnerships.
“My advocacy about transnational organised crime has been consistently: Use every tool in our arsenal. Sanctions, indictments, diplomatic pressure,” West said.
Related: Scammers posed as Australian police to steal crypto, authorities warn
Red flags to watch out for
Like many scams, there are ways to spot a pig-butchering scam. The scam often involves manipulating feelings, which means someone expressing strong feelings for you too quickly through online channels, especially without meeting, may be a scam.
It becomes more suspicious if whoever you’re in touch with refuses to share personal information or professional credentials.
One of the main signs it’s a pig-butchering scam is when the person starts asking for money, even if they claim it’s for an emergency.
This also takes the form of risk-free investments and easy money, often showing fake screenshots of massive profits to convince their victims to invest.
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