Greg's Corner

Widow strung along for years in ‘pig butchering’ romance scam

By Greg Collier

You might think it was Valentine’s Day with all the recent news about romance scams lately. However, the recent spate of romance victims coming forward not only shows that romance scams can happen at any time, but also how nefarious they really are. Yet, there is a romance scam that stands above all the others, as it has claimed tens of thousands to upwards of a million dollars from its individual victims.

It’s called the pig butchering scam because the scammer ‘fattens up’ their victims using emotional manipulation before leading their victim to the financial slaughterhouse. While it may sound violent, it’s not, but can be just as devastating and traumatic.

After gaining the victim’s trust, scammers convince them to invest in cryptocurrency. They guide the victim to a fake cryptocurrency exchange they control, making it seem like the investment is growing quickly. But when the victim tries to take out their supposed profits, they’re told they need to pay more money before they can get their earnings. No matter how much they pay, the victim never gets any returns.

A widow from Baltimore recently came forward with her story about falling for this scam. She was just playing the online game Words with Friends when she was approached by her scammer. This is a good example of the innocuous places where scammers can lie in wait for their victims. Who expects to run into a scammer in such an innocent game?

The scammer claimed to be a man named Micheal who was working overseas in Turkey. He claimed to be a widower with children around the same age as the victim’s children. Romance scammers will often assume the identity of someone who closely resembles their victims.

After striking up a relationship with the victim, the scammer moved the conversation away from the game and on to the WhatsApp messaging app. This is another red flag, as scammers will try to get their victims away from the platform where they first met so no one will see their messages to their victim.

While some scammers can wait months before asking their victims for money, this scammer waited an entire year before asking his victim for money. In that year, he was showering the victim with affection, talking about how they were going to get married and buy a home together. This is known as ‘love bombing’.

Then the scammer convinced the woman to invest $35,000 into cryptocurrency. He directed her to a phony cryptocurrency exchange that was supposedly based in the UK. After sending in her $35,000, the phony exchange made it appears as if she made close to a million dollars. Except, she couldn’t take the money out of the exchange without paying a $17,000 ‘processing fee’. All the while, the scammer kept convincing her the money was real. The victim even paid money to ‘Michael’ to help pay the bills for a car accident Michael’s son was in. Once scammers know they have hooked their victim, they’ll keep asking for money until there’s no money left, and will still keep asking. Other victims of romance scams have taken out loans and even embezzled to send money to who they think is their romantic partner. The victim in today’s story kept giving money to the victim even after a friend warned her this could be a scam.

While you may recognize a romance scam, someone you know may not. If you think someone you know is being scammed, don’t be judgmental, but show them this blog post or other news articles about the scam. Recognize that it may take time for your friend to come to terms with the possibility that they’re dealing with a scam. Be patient and continue to provide support. Ultimately, your role is to provide guidance and support while respecting your friend’s autonomy. It’s essential to strike a balance between offering assistance and allowing them to make their own decisions.