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FBI Warns Users About Surge in Pig Butchering Crypto Scams

FBI Warns Users About Surge in Pig Butchering Crypto Scams
Pig Butchering, a type of cryptocurrency investment scam, is sweeping across America and the world. According to the latest public service announcement, the FBI has revealed that this dangerous approach of cybercriminals has cost victims more than $2 billion in the U.S. last year. This marks an increase of 183% compared to the $907 million lost in 2021.

What does the alert say?

The alert highlights that the scam leverages social engineering lures to build the trust of victims.
  • The fraudsters approach victims via dating platforms, messaging apps, or social media platforms to introduce themselves.
  • Over the due course of time, once trust is established, the victims are introduced to the cryptocurrency investment scheme that promises them high returns. Instead, this ultimately leads to emptying their crypto wallets to scammers. 
  • The FBI says that the most targeted victims are between 30 and 49 years old. 

Following the success, there are newer iterations of the scheme called liquidity mining and play-to-earn to trick users.

Other trends around crypto scams

  • There has been a fivefold increase in the number of fake domains that were used for fake cryptocurrency scams. 
  • Scammers had also impersonated big celebrities such as Michael J Saylor, Cathie Wood, Brad Garlinghouse, Vitalik Buterin, Elon Musk, and Nayib Bukele to entice users into fraud crypto investment scams.
  • Social media platforms such as YouTube were also exploited to launch massive crypto scams that manipulated users to join dodgy cryptocurrency investment scams.

Stay safe

The FBI has recommended some tips for users to defend themselves against cryptocurrency investment scams. This includes not sharing personal and financial details with strangers, confirming the validity of any opportunity before making any investment, and restraining from paying an additional fee to withdraw your money.
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