What is pig butchering?

It’s a term used to describe a major global cyberscam in which criminals entrap victims by first sending them seemingly innocent questions via text, Instagram, OKCupid, or some other messaging platform. An estimated 300,000 butchers—who are often based in Southeast Asia— stand ready to establish friendly contact when people respond to these “accidental texts,” gradually gaining the trust of victims and “fattening” them with supposed investment opportunities or flirtatious exchanges promising romance. Then the butchers encourage victims to invest money in a nonexistent fund or crypto scheme. That leads to theft of their investment—the butchering.

If you’ve received a text message from someone pretending to have the wrong number, a stranger asking something like, “H

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