How Indian Techie in US Got Cheated by Hinge’s Crypto Fraud; What is Pig Butchering Scam? How to Avoid
The Indian-American woman, who lost her savings of millions of dollars, was the victim of a ‘pig butchering scam’ involving online romance, fake crypto returns and human trafficking.
Shreya Datta, 37, a software professional based in Philadelphia, was snared in a cryptocurrency romance fraud, in which she lost nearly Rs 4 crore or $450,000, leaving her in huge debt.
According to the news agency AFP, Datta begins dating a French wine merchant, Ancel, on a dating app called Hinge. They quickly moved on to WhatsApp, with Ancel strategically deleting his Hinge profile to trap Datta in his illusion of love.
Ancel uses Datta’s divorce to take advantage of her by luring her into a lucrative cryptocurrency-funded retirement plan. He started investing his savings in a seemingly legitimate crypto trading app.
Suspicion only arose after the app demanded a personal “tax” on withdrawals. Datta’s London-based brother revealed Ancel’s true identity as a German fitness influencer.
The FBI reported more than 40,000 victims lost to a cryptocurrency fraud of $3.5 billion, which could be higher considering some victims did not report the number due to embarrassment.
What Do We Know About Scams?
The ‘pig butchering scam’ made headlines in 2022 when a man lost $1 million after first contacting a scammer posing as an old friend on WhatsApp.
The scam originated in Southeast Asia, and its name comes from the Chinese phrase “Shāz Hū Pán”, which means ‘pig roasting’. Cryptocurrency scammers search dating and social media sites for victims.
The analogy comes from the fact that the victim is seduced – fattening the pig – and then steals money – slaughters.
The scam can start as a text from a wrong number or a direct message on social media. The scammer may pretend to be a long-lost contact of the victim.
How Does It Work?
Scammers create fake profiles mostly on WhatsApp and dating apps like Tinder and then pretend to win the victim’s trust with false affection, love and care, and convince them to provide funds for of fictitious investment and employment opportunities.
The scammer guarantees the victim that they will make money through an insider tip or some investor knowledge. Then, the scammer tells the victim to download an app or visit a website to make cryptocurrency trades.
The scammer will initially ask the victim to withdraw some of the “profits” to gain more trust. The victim is encouraged to add more money. If the victim wants to withdraw more money later, the app will ask them to pay some fees or taxes, that’s when the victim realizes that the platform is fake, and the transactions appear on the blockchain, which is not to be seen again.
The money was transferred abroad to transnational criminal organizations in Myanmar and Cambodia using trafficking victims as slaves to carry out the scam online, according to a report by Forbes.
How to Spot a Scam?
Wrong Numbers: Scammers pretend to be talking to others to start a conversation. Do not respond to unsolicited text no matter what the scammer says. Block and report numbers and social media profiles.
Cryptocurrency Guarantee: Fraudsters take time to build trust in the victim before leading them to invest in cryptocurrency. Beware of investments that give higher profits, do not join a website promoted by an online contact.
business: The scammer asks the victim to trade with them by downloading a cryptocurrency app and investing a small amount of time. The fraudster asks the victim to trade.
Unique Gifts: Victims are tempted by big promises that include gifts, expensive vacations.
How to Protect Yourself?
• Do not respond to unknown numbers on WhatsApp, social media or dating apps.
• Before investing your money, including crypto, cross-check URLs or the official website, beware of misspellings in URLs and research investments.
• Check the legitimacy of the app before downloading. Google, Apple app stores also reported about pig killing scam apps.
• Never share personal financial information with the promise of a job or high income.
• Avoid making rash decisions based on emotions.
• Seek help from legal experts and crime reporting authorities.
