'Pig butchering' romance scam domains seized and slaughtered by the Feds The US government seized seven domain names used in so-called "pig butchering" scams that netted criminals more than $10 million. Pig butchering is a newish twist on romance scams in which fraudsters build a relationship with their victims and then con them into transferring money into accounts controlled by the crooks. In …
Is it time for dating sites to start carrying prominent warnings. "Anyone who you meet through this site that asks you for money is likely a scammer. Do not send people money under any circumstance."
I mean I would have thought by now, everyone knew this but clearly there are people that don't. And I know these scammers don't ask right away, they get people emotionally invested, and all that. But perhaps if that warning was there at the start, people might just have that little bit of doubt nagging in the back of their minds, when the request comes, and they might think twice before handing over their cash.
Then again probably not... As conspiracy theorists continually prove, you'll never convince someone of something that they truly don't want to believe...
People's desire for happiness is much greater than even a legitimate doubt. As Barry Eisler once said...
Sometimes I think the urge to believe in our own worldview is our most powerful intellectual imperative, the mind's equivalent of feeding, fighting, and fornicating. People will eagerly twist facts into wholly unrecognizable shapes to fit them into existing suppositions. They'll ignore the obvious, select the irrelevant, and spin it all into a tapestry of self-deception, solely to justify an idea, no matter how impoverished or self-destructive.
I have seen what I assumed to be the start of one of these scams myself several times on dating apps. From my personal experience their profile is usually of an attractive Asian woman that is shown to be within a few miles of my location, but on matching they claim have just left to return back to Asia on business, so more than likely had changed their location on the dating app to appear in other countries. Another common thing is they will quite quickly ask to message you away from the dating app, on Whatsapp or email etc. And as soon as they get your number they will unmatch or block you on the dating app, so it becomes difficult to report their profile after you realise they are a scam.
They chat for a while, sometimes actually having in depth conversations other times ignoring most questions you ask them obviously trying to steer the chat into the direction they want it to go.
They will then casually mention about how they are so happy that they just made X amount of money that day from a crypto investment, stock, or whatever that their Uncle, mother, friend etc - who is a financial advisor - told them about. When it first happened I just said 'Oh that is good i am happy for you, but i have no interested in investments myself' and they literally just stopped replying to messages once i said that.
I'll be honest after that I can only speculate as to what happens next as I usually just delete and block them as soon as I hear any mention of crypto or investments now.
I had a whole series of friend requests on Facebook, at one point, from attractive young ladies who seem to have forgotten to put a blouse on this morning.
Fortunately, even when I was young and smooth, attractive young ladies of that sort never showed any interest in me so I'm under no illusions now.
That's an average of $2 million per person.
A far cry from the excuse that poor people invest in crypto because they can't get a loan to invest in housing.
Also, you're on a dating platform and, instead of angling to get invited for dinner, the person you're talking to starts mentioning money and investments ?
And you fork over the cash without even meeting in person ?
Damn, stupid is always managing to set the bar lower.
> And you fork over the cash without even meeting in person ?
Raw greed, and the illusion some attractive person is actually considering you as her friend is usually enough to overcome all hesitation. If told to be wary, the victims will protest "But she is my friend! And she's trying to help me! I want to show I'm worth her trust!": There are none so blind as those who will not see.
It's the same thought process which allows people to yield their information to world & dog for some free trinket: (Apparently) free gain.
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