pig butcher

English

Etymology

Back-formation from pig butchering.

Noun

pig butcher (plural pig butchers)

1. Someone who scams people using the pig butchering technique.
   • 2022 April 8, Doug Bailey, “What is "pig butchering?" All about the crypto romance scam that cost one woman $8 million”, in The Business of Business‎^[1]:

     Authorities say the average loss per victim of the scheme is around $180,000, but Divya, according to a lawsuit filed against one alleged pig butcher, saw more than $8 million in cryptocurrency disappear into the fraudulent void.

   • 2022 August 18, Amy Wadas, “Lakewood police issue warning over popular 'pig butcher' cryptocurrency scam”, in Denver7‎^[2]:

     "I always thought I’d never fall for something like that," said Steve Belcher, who lost $1.6 million in a pig butcher scam.

   • 2022 September 19, Cezary Podkul, “What's a Pig Butchering Scam? Here's How to Avoid Falling Victim to One.”, in ProPublica‎^[3]:

     Pig butchers most often begin by creating a phony online persona, typically accompanied by an alluring photo (which itself might have been stolen) and images that convey a glamorous lifestyle.

Verb

pig butcher (third-person singular simple present pig butchers, present participle pig butchering, simple past and past participle pig butchered)

1. (chiefly in the past tense) To conduct a pig butchering scam.
   • 2022 March 10, James Paul, “US Siblings Duped Over 20000 Investors Of $124 Million In Crypto Scam”, in Mashable India‎^[4]:

     The modus operandi of the crypto scammers lies on a broad spectrum. Victims are 'pig butchered', a form of love scam, very common on dating apps.

   • 2022 July 28, Pam Martens, Russ Martens, “Senate Banking Committee Will Hear Today About Getting "Pig Butchered" and an Explosion in Crypto Con Men Preying on the Unwary”, in Wall Street on Parade‎^[5]:

     (title)

   • 2022 September 9, Cyrus Farivar, “How One Man Lost $1 Million To A Crypto 'Super Scam' Called Pig Butchering”, in Forbes‎^[6]:

     That was October 2021. By December, Cy had been conned out of more than $1 million dollars — over a quarter of it, borrowed money. His finances were in ruins. Cy, who asked Forbes to identify him by that pseudonym, had been "pig butchered."