The $11 Billion Marketplace Enabling the Crypto Scam Economy
8 months, 2 weeks ago

The $11 Billion Marketplace Enabling the Crypto Scam Economy

Wired  

As the crypto scam commonly known as “pig butchering” has exploded into a full-blown criminal industry that steals tens of billions of dollars a year, an entire ecosystem has formed around it. That sub-industry offers tools and data for finding and tricking targets, money laundering services to help liquidate stolen funds—even detention tools to imprison and coerce the human trafficking victims enslaved to work in scam operations. On Wednesday, crypto-tracing firm Elliptic published a report that delves into crypto scammers’ extensive use of Huione Guarantee, a deposit and escrow service for peer-to-peer transactions that lets users buy and sell over the Telegram messaging service with the cryptocurrency Tether while preventing them from defrauding each other. By analyzing listings on the platform, engaging with sellers—sometimes undercover—and following funds across Tether’s blockchain sent to those sellers’ addresses, Elliptic was able to trace $11 billion in total transactions in just the three years since Huione Guarantee launched, including $3.4 billion so far this year.

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History of this topic

Online scams may already be as big a scourge as illegal drugs
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Online scams may already be as big a scourge as illegal drugs

Live Mint  

AS THE CEO of a small bank in Kansas, a former chairman of the Kansas Bankers Association and a former officer of the American Bankers Association, Shan Hanes knew all about the risks of online fraud. As our new eight-episode podcast, “Scam Inc", describes, online fraudsters have become rich and powerful enough to corrupt entire governments, turning whole countries into …

The ‘Largest Illicit Online Marketplace’ Ever Is Growing at an Alarming Rate, Report Says
2 months, 2 weeks ago

The ‘Largest Illicit Online Marketplace’ Ever Is Growing at an Alarming Rate, Report Says

Wired  

The scam ecosystem has been booming around the world, with criminals honing a handful of strategies to trick victims into voluntarily sending their money into the abyss. Now, researchers say that in the pantheon of dark web marketplaces, the “largest illicit online marketplace” ever is now one that sells services to other scammers rather than focusing on drugs or other …

Cyber fraud called 'pig butchering scam' targeting unemployed youths: Centre
Trending News
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Cyber fraud called 'pig butchering scam' targeting unemployed youths: Centre

India Today  

A new cyber fraud known as "pig butchering scam" or "investment scam" has emerged, targeting unemployed youths, housewives, students, and needy people who are made to lose large sums of money daily, according to the latest annual report of the Union home ministry. "Google The pig butchering scam, which is believed to have started in China in 2016, targets gullible …

What is ‘pig butchering’ cyber scam flagged by MHA? All you need to know
2 months, 4 weeks ago

What is ‘pig butchering’ cyber scam flagged by MHA? All you need to know

Hindustan Times  

The Ministry of Home Affairs has identified a new form of cyber fraud known as the “pig butchering scam”, involving large scale money laundering. Representational image) The new cyber fraud scam makes people lose money almost daily due to bad investments In its latest annual report, the MHA stated that the new investment scam started in China in 2016, targeting …

Stop Calling Online Scams ‘Pig Butchering,’ Interpol Warns
3 months, 1 week ago

Stop Calling Online Scams ‘Pig Butchering,’ Interpol Warns

Wired  

The rise of so-called pig butchering investment scams over the past few years largely caught the world unawares, capitalizing on conditions surrounding pandemic lockdowns and global economic instability to fool people into giving away their money to attackers. But as researchers and law enforcement have scrambled to raise awareness about the crisis—including scammers’ use of forced labor—any way they can, …

‘Pig butchering’ crypto scheme costs San José man $170,000. Scammers wanted even more, prosecutors say
3 months, 2 weeks ago

‘Pig butchering’ crypto scheme costs San José man $170,000. Scammers wanted even more, prosecutors say

LA Times  

The senior in San José suspected something was amiss when the woman who’d supposedly helped him buy $170,000 worth of cryptocurrency had asked for twice as much money to pay overseas taxes. He called the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office, which led to criminal charges against two Southern California residents accused of helping run a “pig butchering” scam — …

Meta bans 20 lakh accounts to combat 'Pig Butchering' scams
4 months ago

Meta bans 20 lakh accounts to combat 'Pig Butchering' scams

India TV News  

Online scams have surged in recent years where so many people lost hefty sum of money. The scam, originating in several Asian countries has involved scammers building trust with victims through social media, dating apps, or text messages. Contact initiation : Scammers approach people via social platforms or apps. : Scammers approach people via social platforms or apps. Tips to …

Meta cracks down on ‘pig butchering’ scams, claims to have removed over 2 million accounts
4 months, 1 week ago

Meta cracks down on ‘pig butchering’ scams, claims to have removed over 2 million accounts

Firstpost  

Pg butchering scams involves fraudsters tricking victims — often found on social media or dating platforms — into fake cryptocurrency investments or financial schemes. Such scams have siphoned off more than $75 billion globally since 2020 Meta has been actively tracking the criminal networks behind pig butchering scams for the past two years, noting their increasing global spread. Described as …

Meta removed 2 million accounts linked to pig butchering scams: Know what it is and how it works
4 months, 1 week ago

Meta removed 2 million accounts linked to pig butchering scams: Know what it is and how it works

India Today  

Meta has taken a major step against online scams by removing over two million accounts involved in something called "pig butchering" scams. These scams are elaborate fraud schemes where criminals build fake relationships online to trick people into investing money in bogus plans, often involving cryptocurrency. How the scam works –Scammers send a friendly message or create fake profiles on …

Meta Finally Breaks Its Silence on Pig Butchering
4 months, 1 week ago

Meta Finally Breaks Its Silence on Pig Butchering

Wired  

Years into the escalating, multibillion-dollar global crisis of pig butchering scams, social media giant Meta released information for the first time on Thursday about its approach to combating the forced-labor compounds that fuel scam activity on its platforms and across the web. As pig butchering scams generate significant revenue for criminals, though, and spread around the world, Meta notes that …

Pig Butchering Scams Are Going High Tech
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Pig Butchering Scams Are Going High Tech

Wired  

As digital scamming explodes in Southeast Asia, including so called “pig butchering” investment scams, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime issued a comprehensive report this week with a dire warning about the rapid growth of this criminal ecosystem. “These developments have not only expanded the scope and efficiency of cyber-enabled fraud and cybercrime, but they have also lowered …

The Pig Butchering Invasion Has Begun
6 months ago

The Pig Butchering Invasion Has Begun

Wired  

More than 200,000 people in Southeast Asia have been forced to run online scams in recent years, often being enslaved and brutalized, as part of criminal enterprises that have netted billions in stolen funds. Such “pig butchering” operations have largely been concentrated in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, typically rooted in Chinese organized crime groups exploiting instability and poor governance in …

Cambodian online marketplace outed as one-stop shop for scammers' money laundering and 'detention equipment' needs
8 months ago

Cambodian online marketplace outed as one-stop shop for scammers' money laundering and 'detention equipment' needs

ABC  

A multi-billion-dollar online marketplace linked to Cambodia's ruling family is allegedly being used to sell equipment to and launder money for the online scam industry — with Australians among those in the crosshairs. "Manual analysis of thousands of messages across the Huione Guarantee platform has provided us with overwhelming evidence that its predominant role is to act as an illicit …

Big bucks and bad behaviour: Dispatches from the Wild West of crypto
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Big bucks and bad behaviour: Dispatches from the Wild West of crypto

The Telegraph  

There’s another cryptocurrency called Wenlambo, launched in 2021. ‘On Twitter/X there were a lot of people trying to hype up the next thing you could invest in, and people were going for whatever the next hype was without much information,’ says the UK-based former chief operating officer at Outlier Ventures, a Web3 accelerator that supports blockchain projects. ‘ “Can I …

How South-East Asia's pig butchering scammers are using artificial intelligence technology
10 months, 2 weeks ago

How South-East Asia's pig butchering scammers are using artificial intelligence technology

ABC  

The video shows a young Asian man with stubbly facial hair and blond tips sitting in a gaming chair in a messy bedroom. Their trademark is "Sha Zhu Pan"or "pig butchering" scams in which victims are contacted through social media or text messages, befriended or seduced and then lured into fake investment schemes — usually cryptocurrency. "By using artificial intelligence …

How pig butchering scam is taking a toll on investors
1 year ago

How pig butchering scam is taking a toll on investors

Live Mint  

The allure of making quick money from trading in the markets often leads to unpleasant consequences. To be sure, the pig butchering scam is a form of investment fraud wherein online scammers use a variety of deceptive tactics, include fake investment apps and websites, to persuade victims to invest more money before making the vanishing act. “I will now have …

‘Pig butchering’ is draining victims’ bank accounts. Here’s how to avoid being scammed
1 year, 3 months ago

‘Pig butchering’ is draining victims’ bank accounts. Here’s how to avoid being scammed

LA Times  

The Department of Justice has charged four men with perpetrating a scam that involved persuading victims to invest large sums of money into a fraudulent platform. It’s called a “pig butchering” scheme, because the perpetrators will “fatten up” a victim to gain their trust before “butchering” them — typically by persuading them to invest large sums of money into a …

Zerodha CEO warns against pig butchering scam: What is it and how to stay safe
1 year, 4 months ago

Zerodha CEO warns against pig butchering scam: What is it and how to stay safe

India Today  

Online scams are rampant in India, with new cases of victims losing lakhs and crores to these online hawkers daily. Alarmed by the growing frequency of these scams, Zerodha Co-Founder and CEO Nithin Kamath recently shed light on a particularly sophisticated form of fraud known as "pig butchering" scams, which are estimated to have siphoned off tens of thousands of …

Pig Butchering Scams: What it means and how you can safeguard yourself? EXPLAINED
1 year, 4 months ago

Pig Butchering Scams: What it means and how you can safeguard yourself? EXPLAINED

India TV News  

Pig butchering scams: Every day we hear about new cases of online scams. Now, Nikhil Kamath, the CEO of Zerodha and the host of the popular podcast ‘WTF,’ has cautioned people about a unique scam called 'Pig Butchering Scams'. Elaborating on the strange analogy, Kamath said that the pig butchering scams involve fattening the victim before butchering. Pig butchering scams …

’Pig butchering’ scams: Nithin Kamath explains how they work, protection from it
1 year, 4 months ago

’Pig butchering’ scams: Nithin Kamath explains how they work, protection from it

Live Mint  

Amid the cases of financial scams on the rise, founder, and CEO of online brokerage firm Zerodha, Nithin Kamath, on 13 November said it is scary how many people fall for various financial scams. He even suggested methods to protect themselves from such scams, where people fall for fake job offer scams, scammy high-return investment schemes crypto investments, etc. It …

Tech executive scammed out of $450,000 by a man she met on Hinge in cruel 'pig butchering' ploy
1 year, 10 months ago

Tech executive scammed out of $450,000 by a man she met on Hinge in cruel 'pig butchering' ploy

Daily Mail  

A tech executive has revealed she fell victim to a cruel new 'pig butchering' scam - which sees romance fraudsters charm single individuals into investing in fake cryptocurrencies. Shreya Datta, 37, lost $450,000 to a scammer posing as a handsome French wine trader called 'Ancel Mali' after she met him on Hinge and the two began exchanging WhatsApp messages. Shreya …

Crypto scam revenue dropped in 2022, fell by $5 billion: Report
2 years, 1 month ago

Crypto scam revenue dropped in 2022, fell by $5 billion: Report

India Today  

The year 2022 saw a decline of 46 percent in revenue from cryptocurrency scams, reports Chainalysis, i.e., the total revenue fell to $5.9 billion in 2022 from that of 2021’s $10.9 billion. And, since most of the crypto scam types are correlated with bitcoin prices, hence, the said decline in crypto scam revenue. It is pointed out that though the …

Pig Butchering Scams Are Evolving Fast
2 years, 1 month ago

Pig Butchering Scams Are Evolving Fast

Wired  

Pig butchering scams have already stolen hundreds of millions of dollars. Researchers found that to stay relevant and deceive more victims in recent months, so-called pig butchering attacks are developing both more compelling narratives to draw targets in and more sophisticated tech to convince victims that there’s big money to be made. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more …

What Is a Pig Butchering Scam?
2 years, 2 months ago

What Is a Pig Butchering Scam?

Wired  

Digital swindles like business email compromises and romance scams generate billions of dollars for criminals. Now, a new variation of these schemes, known as “pig butchering,” is on the rise, ensnaring unsuspecting targets to steal all of their money and operating at a massive scale thanks in large part to forced labor. Often they’ll simply say “Hi” or something like …

Billions of dollars of stolen cryptocurrencies laundered using cross-chain tools
2 years, 5 months ago

Billions of dollars of stolen cryptocurrencies laundered using cross-chain tools

The Hindu  

Illicit actors, who are masters at using blockchain protocols and platforms, have moved stolen crypto funds between multiple blockchains, leaving law enforcement agencies struggling to follow their money trail. The inter-connected nature of blockchains has resulted in cyber criminals finding more complex ways to launder money and hide their tracks, according to a report by U.K. based blockchain analysis firm …

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