4 ms·

It wasn't even a good name, "fattening" isn't a good metaphor for "cultivating a relationship with the victim". The name made me assume that the scam involved h

It wasn't even a good name, "fattening" isn't a good metaphor for "cultivating a relationship with the victim". The name made me assume that the scam involved helping the victim earn more money, to steal it all eventually.

lelandfe 2y ago
Agreed. It's reflexive to treat this as another example of George Carlin's "euphemisms"[0] but I just heard the phrase "pig butchering" for the first time and was unable to intuit anything about it. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvISFZ7bQcE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvISFZ7bQcE
- wat10000 2y ago
  I’ve seen this term a lot, but I’m still not totally sure what it refers to. I think it’s the one where they message you pretending they have the wrong number, then gradually earn your trust by pretending to be a pretty lady who might be into you? Definitely a bad name. Cons seem to love bad names, though. “Ponzi scheme” is completely meaningless on its own. “419 scam” likewise. There’s also the Spanish Prisoner, phishing, catfishing…
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
dfxm12 2y ago
I don't think names of cons are supposed to be "good" in that way. They aren't meant to be super intuitive. They aren't supposed to be obvious to anyone but con men. It's security through obscurity, in a way. It's a way to talk about something without outright snitching on yourself. That's why phone calls in mafia movies sound something like "Take care of that friend of ours, yeah, the chicken man". I also think it is good that normal people are hip to this sort of slang, in case they run into it. On a similar note, a "badger game" has nothing to do with Wisconsin.
deleted 2y ago
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somat 2y ago
Every time I see it used I go "your using that term wrong" however I will concede that if everyone is using the term wrong, then perhaps it is actually I who is using the term wrong. Anyhow, I like this meaning so I will share it with you. I first saw it use in the context of governments and their resident corporations. The government starts with fairly liberal corporate policy, this encourages the corporations to grow and make money. that is, fattening the hogs. and when times get tough, perhaps money is a little tight, they start pulling funds out and killing the corporations via increased taxes, fines, regulation. A process sometimes referred to as pig butchering. I suspect the main problem with this is the absence of a stable environment to do business in.
ASalazarMX 2y ago
My dad fell for it, but fortunately lost a small amount (less than $1,000 USD) before realizing what was going on. The fattening stage is making you invest progressively more in scam websites that offer incredible returns. Dad "invested" petty change, and was allowed to withdraw about twice that. The website had graphs that showed how well his investment was doing, and he was literally feeling like a stock wizard. At some point it was doing so well he tried to withdraw more, but the site wouldn't let him unless he "invested" more money. He caught on and stopped doing so, and magically his graphs slowly started going red until all his money was gone. The butchering stage could have been a lot worse for him, if he had been more greedy and bet his life savings.

lelandfe 2y ago

Agreed. It's reflexive to treat this as another example of George Carlin's "euphemisms"[0] but I just heard the phrase "pig butchering" for the first time and was unable to intuit anything about it. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvISFZ7bQcE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvISFZ7bQcE

wat10000 2y ago
I’ve seen this term a lot, but I’m still not totally sure what it refers to. I think it’s the one where they message you pretending they have the wrong number, then gradually earn your trust by pretending to be a pretty lady who might be into you? Definitely a bad name. Cons seem to love bad names, though. “Ponzi scheme” is completely meaningless on its own. “419 scam” likewise. There’s also the Spanish Prisoner, phishing, catfishing…
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

dfxm12 2y ago

I don't think names of cons are supposed to be "good" in that way. They aren't meant to be super intuitive. They aren't supposed to be obvious to anyone but con men. It's security through obscurity, in a way. It's a way to talk about something without outright snitching on yourself. That's why phone calls in mafia movies sound something like "Take care of that friend of ours, yeah, the chicken man". I also think it is good that normal people are hip to this sort of slang, in case they run into it. On a similar note, a "badger game" has nothing to do with Wisconsin.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

somat 2y ago

Every time I see it used I go "your using that term wrong" however I will concede that if everyone is using the term wrong, then perhaps it is actually I who is using the term wrong. Anyhow, I like this meaning so I will share it with you. I first saw it use in the context of governments and their resident corporations. The government starts with fairly liberal corporate policy, this encourages the corporations to grow and make money. that is, fattening the hogs. and when times get tough, perhaps money is a little tight, they start pulling funds out and killing the corporations via increased taxes, fines, regulation. A process sometimes referred to as pig butchering. I suspect the main problem with this is the absence of a stable environment to do business in.

ASalazarMX 2y ago

My dad fell for it, but fortunately lost a small amount (less than $1,000 USD) before realizing what was going on. The fattening stage is making you invest progressively more in scam websites that offer incredible returns. Dad "invested" petty change, and was allowed to withdraw about twice that. The website had graphs that showed how well his investment was doing, and he was literally feeling like a stock wizard. At some point it was doing so well he tried to withdraw more, but the site wouldn't let him unless he "invested" more money. He caught on and stopped doing so, and magically his graphs slowly started going red until all his money was gone. The butchering stage could have been a lot worse for him, if he had been more greedy and bet his life savings.