7 ms·

One warning, this scam, with it's fast timeline and request for funds to be sent to the girlfriend is a classic, but modern scams can be quite different than th

One warning, this scam, with it's fast timeline and request for funds to be sent to the girlfriend is a classic, but modern scams can be quite different than this. "pig butchering" scams can run for months of contact with no requests for money, and then instead of asking for money, the user "invests" into what appear initialy to be profitable investments alongside the scammer.

guappa 2y ago
I think at this point pig butchering is so famous that if you fall for it you'd fall for any scam.
- bell-cot 2y ago
  If only that was true. In reality, outside of the more online-fraud-savvy demographics...
  - Lanolderen 2y ago
    Getting scammed on Runescape should be part of the school curriculum.
    - ConfusedDog 2y ago
      I was scammed out of about $4 when I was kid playing Ragnarök Online. Taught me zero trust. In hindsight, it's a cheap but effective learning experience... well, until I met my now ex-wife.
      - rambambram 2y ago
        At least know that I have trust in your humor and sense of smiling in the face of adversity.
- mesofile 2y ago
  Many years ago when advance-fee email scams [0] became common I was likewise amazed that anyone would fall for them. Then it was pointed out that the seemingly obvious warning signs were a feature and not a bug, they are there to filter out everyone with a minimum of common sense and ensure that the scammers, who are casting their nets wide, only get responses from a few people but those people who do respond are quite gullible. The pig butchering thing is just a different filter meant to trap a different kind of vulnerable person. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam
- HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
  I have literally never heard of it before this thread.
- Zak 2y ago
  This thread is the first I've heard of it. I had to look it up. The scammer convinces the mark to put money into fake investments and escalates until the mark runs of of money or gets spooked, then disappears. It's often made more persuasive by engaging in a fake romance.
fmajid 2y ago
The people doing the pig butchering are themselves trafficked and working in horrendous slavery conditions in Cambodia: https://theconversation.com/pig-butchering-fraud-the-link-between-modern-slavery-torture-and-online-crime-238135 https://theconversation.com/pig-butchering-fraud-the-link-be... https://restofworld.org/2022/cambodias-scam-mills/ https://restofworld.org/2022/cambodias-scam-mills/
- saaspirant 2y ago
  I can confirm. Someone I know went there for "job abroad" via an "agent" and then came back after knowing what it truly was. It's common in India
- EvanAnderson 2y ago
  I stopped trying to mess with them and string them along after I heard about this.
  - Scoundreller 2y ago
    There are downsides to engaging and not engaging, but I’m still on team engage and waste time. Once they can’t find any true victims in a reasonable amount of time, the industry will disappear (or automate and remove the torture and amplify the attempts 1000x)
    - inetknght 2y ago
      > Once they can’t find any true victims in a reasonable amount of time, the industry will disappear You're wasting more of your time than theirs. Think of it, you've already got your own answer. This is a whole industry and that implies people that work full time. How much time do you spend on this? Have you spent your whole day optimizing your workflow and answers to get an optimal response? Because they most certainly have.
      - Scoundreller 2y ago
        Finding out how to keep them on the line longer is part of the fun.
gadders 2y ago
I ask them to invest in an alt coin I'm launching and then they stop talking to me.
pat_space 2y ago
Sad example of out rural kansas: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/21/cryptocurrency-shan-hanes-pig-butchering-scam.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/21/cryptocurrency-shan-hanes-pi...
inimino 2y ago
And in case it isn't obvious, with AI "companionship" models and such, this is about to get a lot worse as the cost of the string-along goes to zero.
- LoganDark 2y ago
  I await the day where the companionship models are actually as good at creative writing as even ChatGPT. Of course if they're ever as good as a real person (the holy grail) then I'll be very happy, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
lurk2 2y ago
I saw this happen a few times where I used to work. The one instance that I remember was an older pensioner and a Filipina woman in her 30s. She met him in our city and eventually convinced him to move back to the Philippines with her. He used his pension to build her family a house for them all to live in. Once the house was finished, they locked him out of it and threatened to call the police if he didn't leave. This guy was in a wheelchair and didn't know how to read. What struck me was how nice he was - he wasn't at all bitter when he was describing what happened, and was extremely polite to everyone in the office. I guess they look for people like that.

guappa 2y ago

I think at this point pig butchering is so famous that if you fall for it you'd fall for any scam.

bell-cot 2y ago
If only that was true. In reality, outside of the more online-fraud-savvy demographics...
- Lanolderen 2y ago
  Getting scammed on Runescape should be part of the school curriculum.
  - ConfusedDog 2y ago
    I was scammed out of about $4 when I was kid playing Ragnarök Online. Taught me zero trust. In hindsight, it's a cheap but effective learning experience... well, until I met my now ex-wife.
    - rambambram 2y ago
      At least know that I have trust in your humor and sense of smiling in the face of adversity.
mesofile 2y ago
Many years ago when advance-fee email scams [0] became common I was likewise amazed that anyone would fall for them. Then it was pointed out that the seemingly obvious warning signs were a feature and not a bug, they are there to filter out everyone with a minimum of common sense and ensure that the scammers, who are casting their nets wide, only get responses from a few people but those people who do respond are quite gullible. The pig butchering thing is just a different filter meant to trap a different kind of vulnerable person. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam
HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
I have literally never heard of it before this thread.
Zak 2y ago
This thread is the first I've heard of it. I had to look it up. The scammer convinces the mark to put money into fake investments and escalates until the mark runs of of money or gets spooked, then disappears. It's often made more persuasive by engaging in a fake romance.

fmajid 2y ago

The people doing the pig butchering are themselves trafficked and working in horrendous slavery conditions in Cambodia: https://theconversation.com/pig-butchering-fraud-the-link-between-modern-slavery-torture-and-online-crime-238135 https://theconversation.com/pig-butchering-fraud-the-link-be... https://restofworld.org/2022/cambodias-scam-mills/ https://restofworld.org/2022/cambodias-scam-mills/

saaspirant 2y ago
I can confirm. Someone I know went there for "job abroad" via an "agent" and then came back after knowing what it truly was. It's common in India
EvanAnderson 2y ago
I stopped trying to mess with them and string them along after I heard about this.
- Scoundreller 2y ago
  There are downsides to engaging and not engaging, but I’m still on team engage and waste time. Once they can’t find any true victims in a reasonable amount of time, the industry will disappear (or automate and remove the torture and amplify the attempts 1000x)
  - inetknght 2y ago
    > Once they can’t find any true victims in a reasonable amount of time, the industry will disappear You're wasting more of your time than theirs. Think of it, you've already got your own answer. This is a whole industry and that implies people that work full time. How much time do you spend on this? Have you spent your whole day optimizing your workflow and answers to get an optimal response? Because they most certainly have.
    - Scoundreller 2y ago
      Finding out how to keep them on the line longer is part of the fun.

gadders 2y ago

I ask them to invest in an alt coin I'm launching and then they stop talking to me.

pat_space 2y ago

Sad example of out rural kansas: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/21/cryptocurrency-shan-hanes-pig-butchering-scam.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/21/cryptocurrency-shan-hanes-pi...

inimino 2y ago

And in case it isn't obvious, with AI "companionship" models and such, this is about to get a lot worse as the cost of the string-along goes to zero.

LoganDark 2y ago
I await the day where the companionship models are actually as good at creative writing as even ChatGPT. Of course if they're ever as good as a real person (the holy grail) then I'll be very happy, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

lurk2 2y ago

I saw this happen a few times where I used to work. The one instance that I remember was an older pensioner and a Filipina woman in her 30s. She met him in our city and eventually convinced him to move back to the Philippines with her. He used his pension to build her family a house for them all to live in. Once the house was finished, they locked him out of it and threatened to call the police if he didn't leave. This guy was in a wheelchair and didn't know how to read. What struck me was how nice he was - he wasn't at all bitter when he was describing what happened, and was extremely polite to everyone in the office. I guess they look for people like that.