Secret Service Disrupts “Pig-Butchering” Crypto Scheme
The U.S Secret Service Criminal Investigation Division announced it has seized a web domain being used to defraud victims out of their hard-earned cash in a new confidence crime known as “pig butchering.”
Court records show that one victim was defrauded out of $341,000 between August 2022 and July 2023 by scammers in connection with the seized domain OKEX-NFT.net. The victim believed they were investing in a legitimate cryptocurrency opportunity, only to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Pig butchering is a new confidence crime technique seen online in which scammers build a relationship with their victims in order to defraud money at a later date. Scammers meet their victims through social media, dating apps, and even by texting as an apparent “wrong number.”
Once the fraudsters gain the trust of their victims, they introduce them to the idea of investing in a cryptocurrency scheme. After persuading them to invest, they direct victims to a fraudulent platform similar to the seized domain. Once the victim sends the money, the scammers transfer it through multiple bank accounts in an effort to hide the source before vanishing, never to be heard from again.
If you are a victim of pig butchering or any similar scams, report the crime to your bank and law enforcement as soon as possible. Your local police, the FBI and the Secret Service are all points of contact to use.
You can email the Secret Service at CryptoFraud@SecretService.gov if you are a victim of pig butchering.
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