Online financial fraud has evolved into a sophisticated industry, and one of the most alarming new threats is known as pig butchering. This is not a niche cybercrime — it is a global, highly organised yet decentralised, and rapidly growing scam that preys on victims through social engineering and deception, and takes place entirely online. The scam will successfully target and exploit victims, often the elderly or emotionally vulnerable, and friends and family members will be entirely unaware until after the scammer has finished their work.
To expose this emerging threat, The Economist has published Scam Inc a new 8-part podcast outlining how pig butchering scams work, the criminal networks behind them, and the devastating impact it can have on its victims.
The series explains how scammers will build trust over time, in a technique known as fattening the pig, convincing victims to make financial investments and transfer funds that will ultimately vanish along with the criminal.
More than just fraud, this scam taps into victims’ emotions by exploiting trust. And the scam operates at scale, leveraging the borderless nature of digital finance to target people wherever they are.
With financial fraud evolving faster than ever before, staying informed is crucial. This podcast aims to equip listeners with the knowledge to recognise these scams before they or their family and friends fall victim.
Share your thoughts in the comments. And if you’re curious, you can listen to the podcast.