pig butchering
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Calque from Mandarin 殺豬盤／杀猪盘 (shāzhūpán, “pig-butchering plate”).
Noun
[edit]- A scam technique in which victims are tricked into investing large amounts of money into a fictitious brokerage (usually a cryptocurrency wallet), which actually sends their funds directly to the scammers.
- 2022 February 20, Wong Shiying, “The pig-butchering scam: Con artists who come for your heart and wallet”, in The Straits Times[1]:
- According to news reports, pig-butchering scams started in China in 2016. Back then, scammers groomed their victims to place bets on fake gambling websites.
- 2022, China Internet Development Report 2020, page 157:
- Intense efforts were also made to crack down on four types of high-incidence network fraud cases, namely, network loans, network click farming, pig-butchering scams and pretending as customer service personnel.
- 2022 August 25, Cheyenne DeVon, “Got a text from a wrong number? It could be an attempt at 'pig butchering,' a crypto scam costing investors millions”, in CNBC[2]:
- 'Pig butchering' scammers usually send a message via Whatsapp, text or another app like Tinder, as if it was intended for someone else, often with an attractive person’s profile photo.
Verb
[edit]- present participle and gerund of pig butcher