In recent years, the “pig-butchering” scam has become alarmingly common, evolving and adapting to deceit unsuspecting victims. Despite concerted efforts from authorities to combat this issue, many continue to fall prey. A recent exposé by the Orange County Register detailed the harrowing experience of a resident from Los Angeles County who lost a staggering $740,000. Experts highlight that residents of wealthy cities are increasingly targeted by these fraud schemes.
Traditionally, “pig-butchering” scams would start with phishing text messages, but now dating apps have emerged as a popular hunting ground for these fraudsters. For example, a software developer in Santa Monica met a 32-year-old Chinese woman named “Jenny” through such an app. Within just a few months, he was nearly bankrupt due to her manipulations.
Jenny claimed she had moved from Shanghai to Boston four years ago and was working at her uncle’s venture capital firm. She expressed to the victim that it was hard to make new friends in a foreign land and that she was looking for companionship and stability. Jenny would share snippets of her daily life—photos of her horseback riding or having gatherings with friends, alongside videos of her playfully dancing in a museum while wearing a mask. At one point, she “accidentally” shared a screenshot showing her checking account balance exceeding $2 million. Although the victim found this suspicious, Jenny quickly explained that it was due to a fast-trading technology developed by her uncle’s company, which purportedly could provide at least a 40% profit with minimal risk. She insisted she was sharing insider information out of trust.
Initially skeptical, the man eventually lowered his guard and invested $1,000 as a “test.” After enjoying the high returns, he felt emboldened to invest more—especially after Jenny offered to lend him money when he mentioned struggling with finances, solidifying his trust in her.
Ultimately, the man’s initial $1,000 investment ballooned to a total of $740,000.
Kathy Waters, executive director of the California Against Romance Scams organization, pointed out one of the reasons why “pig-butchering” scams are so effective: the intoxicating allure of love combined with the promise of wealth. “What could be better than finding someone you love and sharing a fortune together? It becomes addictive, and victims don’t want that feeling to go away,” she explained.
Waters stressed that many individuals recognize the warning signs but often choose not to believe they could fall victim, especially when they are in a vulnerable state. Those ensnared in these romantic scams lose more than just money; they typically feel a profound sense of loss for the loved one they believed they were connecting with, compounded by feelings of shame due to societal stigma.
Furthermore, experts have noted that in California, early “pig-butchering” schemes primarily targeted Mandarin-speaking individuals and immigrants in cities like Irvine, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Now, scams have broadened to encompass residents in affluent areas, with criminal groups utilizing personal information to choose their victims, often selecting them solely based on ZIP codes. Additionally, these criminal operations have expanded from Southeast Asia to the Middle East and Africa.
A report from the FBI released in September indicated that California suffered nearly $1.2 billion in losses from cryptocurrency-related scams last year, making it the highest in the nation—nearly three times greater than Texas and Florida, which followed closely behind. In response to the rise in such scams, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has set up a website to track victim stories, allowing individuals with knowledge of such cases to report them at (dfpi.ca.gov/crypto-scams/).
