Greg's Corner

Why this crypto-romance scam is more successful than others

By Greg Collier

Romance scams predate the internet. But back in those days, the scammer had to at least be there in person to scam their victim. Since then, online and long-distance relationships have become more socially acceptable. That has made the romance scammer’s job easier. Now, the scammers don’t even have to leave their homes to scam someone who could literally be living somewhere on the other side of Earth.

However, more and more people have become more educated on the typical romance scam. That’s when the scammer will target a victim, cultivate an online romantic relationship with their victim, before asking the victim for large amounts of money. Unfortunately, that hasn’t deterred scammers in the least. When one scam stops being profitable, scammers will move on to another scam. And as far as the romance scam goes, the scammers have really stepped it up with their latest version.

We’ve discussed it before. It’s known as the ‘pig butchering’ scam. It’s called that because the scammers make the victim think they’re being ‘fattened up’ financially, before the scammers lead them to the proverbial slaughter. After successfully establishing trust with their target, scammers proceed to encourage the victim to invest in cryptocurrency. They direct the victim towards a fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange operated by the scammer group. This deceptive exchange creates the illusion that the victim’s investment is experiencing rapid and significant growth. Unfortunately, when the victim attempts to withdraw their alleged profits, they are informed that an additional payment must be made before they can access their windfall. It doesn’t matter how much the victim pays, they’ll never see any return.

This recently happened to a man in the Boston area. The man was even fully aware of the typical romance scam. When the man’s online partner started bringing up cryptocurrency, the man even said, “I’m not giving you any money.” But as scammers always do, they had an answer for the man. They told him, “No, you don’t give it to me. You establish your own account, and I’ll guide you.”

And that’s what makes the pig butchering scam so successful for scammers. Victims think they’re accessing a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange when, in reality, it’s part of the scam. Unfortunately, the Boston man lost $300,000 in the scam.

The cryptocurrency market is volatile enough that people don’t need scammers to help them lose their money. Only invest in cryptocurrency if you’ve studied the subject yourself. If someone you’ve never met face-to-face starts suggesting you invest in it with their guidance, there’s a very good chance they’re not who they say they are.