(WXYZ) — The latest global online scam has left many people with thousands of dollars in financial loss. It's called "pig butchering" and last year alone, the FBI says victims in the United States lost over $3 billion.
Extortion, sextortion, pig butchering, for lack of better words, is an all-in-one fraud. It is a type of crypto scam that starts with catfishing where an attacker builds trust with the victim and then convinces them to join a financial investment scheme.
This is a corporate enterprise of scammers and Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson is warning the Michigan community about the scam after Michigan-based life coach Simon Preslyn lost $35,000.
"I got a random message saying I'm interested in your life coaching service," Simon said.
From there, the bad actor built a relationship with Simon, sharing a picture of an attractive woman and convincing him of a rewarding crypto scheme with great initial profits but, in reality, was a fake website.
"And that's the point. To get to the point where you are comfortable with each other, and that's what I fell into," Simon said on Facebook live.
According to the FBI, "pig butchering" refers to a time-tested, heavily scripted, and contact-intensive process to fatten up the prey before slaughter. Kevin Kok from Florida thought he was investing in the name of love.
"I lost around $15,000," he said.
In Alabama, the state's securities commission says 88 people collectively lost more than $22 million.
"And so it does lure that victim into, you know, a trusting sort of situation with the fraudster because, hey, they've gotten a return, you know? Maybe two or three times," Amanda Senn the director at Alabama Securities Commission said.
Now officials are reminding the community that if something sounds too good to be true, it's probably fake.
"Treat somebody you encounter online the same way you would treat somebody in person. You know, don't suddenly open up your checkbook or your online accounts to a stranger," Rick Forno, the assistant director at the University of Maryland said.
Attorney General Dana Nessel's office has also posted a warning about the pig butchering scam and is urging folks to be vigilant for con artists online.
