Pig Butchering: Crypto’s Emerging Human Trafficking And Romance Scam Industry

If you’ve ever gotten a friendly text message from a seemingly wrong number you might have been a target of the latest industrial scale scam targeting wealthy individuals around the world, known as Pig Butchering. In this week’s episode of Public Key, our host, Ian Andrews (CMO at Chainalysis) is joined by Alastair McCready, Southeast Asia Editor of Vice World News, who is based in Cambodia and has been investigating this human trafficking, romance, investment and crypto connected scam from its source.

Alastair explains how the scammers ensnare their victims by first building friendship and sometimes romance. We also learn that many of the scammers are victims themselves having been trafficked and held against their will forced to work for powerful organized crime rings. Some estimates put the profits from this scheme at more than $1 Billion, with very little resistance from pandemic stricken and financially depleted governments.

Minute-by-minute episode breakdown

(2:05) – What is Pig Butchering and how does it differ from other scams and schemes associated with cryptocurrency
(4:25) – Analyzing whether Pig Butchering is a Billion Dollar industry
(7:05) – The process in which the scammers bonded with their victims and slowly gained trust
(10:45) – Detailed look at how scammers were able to utilize crypto and legit exchanges to drain victims of their life savings
(15:05) – Real life cases of human trafficking and forceable confinement in former casino resorts
(18:03) – Uncovering the brutality and inhumane conditions of the human trafficking victims
(20:25) – Understanding if governments are compliant in this activity or taking action to stop pig butchering operations
(23:05) - The importance of spreading the word about this emerging industrial scale scam

Related resources

Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key.

Article: From Industrial-Scale Scam Centers, Trafficking Victims Are Being Forced to Steal Billions
Report: The Chainalysis 2022 Crypto Crime Report
Report: The Chainalysis State of Web3 Report
Blog: OFAC Sanctions Popular Ethereum Mixer Tornado Cash for Laundering Crypto Stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus Group
Blog: Public Sector Survey Preview: Chainalysis 2022 State of Cryptocurrency Investigations

Speakers on today’s episode

Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis) https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianhandrews
Alastair McCready (Southeast Asia Editor, Vice World News) https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastair-mccready-00088468

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