Owner of a phony heart: AFP issues new warning over ‘pig butchering scam’.
Imagine befriending someone who turns out to be nothing more than a figment of deception, leading you to financial ruin. This nightmare scenario is the unfortunate reality for victims ensnared by a ‘pig butchering’ scam, a manipulative ploy preying on individuals’ loneliness and longing for connection.
While pig butchering may sound irrelevant to most, Australians lost up to $3,800 an hour to romance scams in 2023.
The Australian Federal Police recently issued a stark warning about this deceitful scam, shedding light on a sinister ‘manual’ employed by con artists to exploit vulnerable individuals.
“We need the community to talk about their own experiences to prevent further victims”.
The manual instructs offenders to connect with the victim using nine topics of conversation so they can form a connection. Offenders are told to say they are 28-35 years old, show they understand pop culture and are educated with good paying jobs.
The manual is even split into several different sections tailored for age, gender, sexual preference and geography.
Often, the scammer will start off acting as a friend, before eventually turning the “relationship” romantic to keep the cash flow coming.
Pig butchering is known to be made up of four key steps – packaging, raising, killing/investment scam, and cash out.
Packaging
Involves the offender taking on a persona, commonly a good-looking person of Asian appearance, who seems wealthy and looking for friendship (but are always too busy to meet).
Raising
The Raising step involves the scammers essentially grooming the victim, greeting them every morning/night, confessing their love for them, and urging the victim to dream big. This is all done in a bid to psychologically manipulate the victim into spending money so they can live the life they dream of.
Killing/Investment scam
The Killing/Investment scam step has the offender flaunting their wealth, talking about expensive things they buy and how they often travel. Knowing the victim will ask how they can do the same, the scammer directs them to a replica investment site which is really just sending money straight into the hands of the scammer. The scammer will often try to guilt the victim into spending more money, encouraging them to sell assets or get loans to pay imaginary fees. If the victim refuses, the offender can often blackmail them with exposing intimate images they’ve received.
Cash out
Finally, the Cash out part of the scheme comes when the victim refuses to invest more money or wants to cash their money out themselves. It can also happen when the scammer decides they’ve had enough and want to cash out of the scam themselves.
Scams like these often go highly underreported due to embarrassment and shame, with Chief Executive Stella Smith advising, ‘We need the community to talk about their own experiences to prevent further victims’.
For more information
Anyone who feels they might be the victim of cybercrime have been urged to report to ReportCyber or to dial triple-0 in the event of an imminent safety threat. You can also report a scam at Scamwatch.