BBC World Service | ‘Pig butchering’ scammers target BBC reporter - BBC World Service @BBCWorldService | Uploaded August 2024 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
It started with a direct message on Instagram. Jessica was an attractive 36-year-old woman looking for romance.

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The BBC’s Cyber correspondent Joe Tidy suspected it was a scam but wasn’t sure what kind. In the end, "Jessica’" turned out to be a "pig butchering" scammer.

These fraudsters refer to their victims as pigs, whom they fatten up to be "butchered" or conned, out of as much money as possible.

Knowing the profile for "Jessica" was fake, the reporter played along for more than two months to find out what psychological tricks the pig butchers employ to lure victims around the world into investing into fake crypto schemes.

Pig butchering scammers stole at least $3bn last year according to the FBI, with victims usually aged between 30 and 60.

0:00 "Jessica" says hello
1:08 "Jessica" says she can make me rich
3:23 Where is "Jessica" based?
4:15 Trying to get my money back
5:25 Confronting "Jessica" and getting the truth

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