Combating Pig Butchering Scams With a Unified Approach

Deputy DA Erin West Discusses the Anatomy of the Scam and Mitigation Strategies Anna Delaney (annamadeline) • May 9, 2024

Pig butchering scams - a combination of romance and investment scams - have left victims financially bankrupt. According to Erin West, a deputy district attorney in Santa Clara County, California, these scams are multi-faceted. Victims are lured through fake texts, social media messages or dating apps by someone pretending to be romantically interested in them. The scammers then convince the victims to make investments into crypto exchanges, draining their finances completely.

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"Educate, seize, disrupt. We need to educate potential victims about this, we need to educate law enforcement about how to handle it, we need to seize what we can back for victims, and we need to disrupt these organizations," West said. Transnational crime syndicates are excelling at pig butchering right now. "What happens ...