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InternetCalled Pig Butchering, this new scam is rampant in Switzerland
A long-term scam plunders the victims of sometimes very large sums. It is rampant all over the world and also affects many Internet users in our regions.
Often scammers establish a relationship of trust with their victim on the internet in order to extort money from them.
AFP
Fatten the pig before killing it. This is the basis of Pig Butchering, a new scam that is rampant on the web. A beautiful (or handsome) Asian match with you on Tinder? Have an eye! The scam consists in baiting his victim by building a long-term relationship with him, in order to better steal his money followingwards, often in the form of cryptocurrencies. Main target: young people, lonely, or who have problems of all kinds. And Swiss are affected, according to the “Kassensturz” broadcast on the SRF.
The hacker most of the time contacts his victim under a false identity, on social networks or a dating app. In Switzerland, for example, a student, Peter L., received a friend request on Facebook from a pretty Asian girl who called herself Irene. The scammer then embarks on a relationship of trust, sometimes romantic, with his victim, chatting with her on WhatsApp sometimes for several weeks, as in the case of Peter.
Often cryptocurrencies
Until the crook launches his attack. He then incites his victim to embark on supposedly profitable, ever larger investments, often in cryptocurrencies, by directing him to a fake trading platform. The figures shown on this site give the impression that the investments made by the victim are profitable, which encourages him to invest more. But this is only a facade that allows the scammer to directly recover the money.
This is what happened with Peter, who nevertheless used the Ace Pro app, available on the Apple Store but known to have security flaws. From the moment the student paid enough money, the pretty Asian disappeared from circulation. Just like the fortune of the Swiss, who will have lost 10,000 francs in the adventure.
A method of extortion that comes from Asia
In 2021, the FBI received more than 4,300 complaints related to this type of scam for extorted sums of $429 million. According to the magazine Wired, global losses would be in the billions. The scam was hatched by Asian criminal groups that rely on workers, sometimes victims of human trafficking and forcibly conscripted into scam centers, especially in Cambodia. These “Slaves 2.0” are then trained to extort people all over the world.
Check before you invest!
Last year, more than 800 reports of online fraud were recorded in Switzerland, for a total loss of 80 million francs, according to SRF. The National Computer Crime Investigation Support Network recommends consulting the FINMA website to find recognized financial institutions in Switzerland. As for abroad, extreme caution is required. If it is not a recognized institution, beware. Or visit the site www.cybercrimepolice.ch, even call the police.
(cht)
