Pig-Butchering Scams

This case occurred in 2023. The victim, named Maria, who had never previously invested in crypto-assets, was first enticed to undertake a short online trading course on investments.  This course was undertaken with a fraudulent entity which even issued a fake accreditation certificate to the victim confirming that she had successfully completed the course with excellent results. This was all part of a scheme to encourage her to start trading investments with them. 

After completing this fake course, Maria was allocated a purported trader named Elena. Maria believed she was investing in bitcoin and that Elena was assisting her in trading crypto-assets to earn substantial profits.

Before commencing trading, Maria first transferred funds from her bank account to her own account with a well-known digital bankand to an own account she was instructed to open with a digital payments platform focused on crypto. Under the instructions and directions of the fraudster, Maria’s funds were then converted into bitcoin and transferred to wallet addresses that were communicated to her by Elena.

Within one week she made seven substantial payments, most of which higher than €2,000. Given that certain payments exceeded the bank’s limits on her account, Maria personally called the bank a number of times for the bank to increase her spending limits so that the intended transfers could go through.

The scope of all these bank transfers were to trade in crypto-assets. Such aspect, however, was not communicated nor emerged during the various telephone conversations that the victim held with representatives of the bank. During such conversations Maria only limited herself to communicate that the transfers were intended to just serve as top-ups to other accounts she held with third parties. She refrained from explaining to the bank the real reason for the transfers.

Maria used to communicate with the fraudster through the messaging app, Messenger. By the time she discovered that this was all a scam she had lost close to €30,000.

Warning signs and red flags:

• Online training course on investments with an unknown entity or institution which is not officially recognised.
• The person offering guidance or advice was not a licensed person.
• Communications through electronic devices only, with no in-person meetings.
• Indications of easy substantial profits occurring over a short period of time.

Disclaimer: This account is based on a real-life case investigated by the authorities. While the events and figures described are factual, names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Joseph became a victim of a scam after he started communicating on Facebook with a person he did not know and whom he had never met. This person started showing a certain interest in him and eventually persuaded him to start investing in crypto-assets under her guidance. This case occurred during the years 2022 and 2023.

The person with whom Joseph was communicating was not licensed to provide investment advice and did not represent any entity licensed by a financial services regulatory authority.

The fraudster gained Joseph’s trust and interest through various messages and communications that were sent to the victim on a regular basis over messaging apps.

Joseph was instructed to first make various payments from his bank account to a licensed crypto service provider where his money was then converted into crypto-assets. Under the continued instructions of the fraudster, the victim subsequently himself transferred the crypto-assets to external wallets which he thought would be then invested in his own crypto-asset trading account. These payments and communications occurred over a lengthy period of time, of around seven months, with the fraudster continuously providing step-by-step instructions for Joseph to follow. Joseph followed the instructions provided not only during the first step involving the opening of an account in crypto-assets, but also for the requested subsequent payments and transactions.

Joseph transferred his funds as he thought these were going to be invested in crypto-assets. The fraudsters who enticed and guided him to invest, however, stole all of his transferred funds.

Joseph was deceived into thinking that he was earning substantial profits from the purported fictitious transactions that the fraudsters had shown him on their fake trading platform.

In order to withdraw his funds and the substantial fictitious profits he was told that he had made, Joseph was told that he had to first make various payments and settle a number of charges. He was, for example, requested to undertake a substantial payment to unblock his account which he was told had now been frozen. These payment requests were, however, just attempts made by the fraudsters to try and extract more money from him.

Joseph believed so much that he was in a romantic relationship that he even travelled overseas to meet with his purported friend that he thought was helping him making the huge profits in crypto-assets.

After various excuses Joseph was eventually blocked from contacting his alleged friend at which stage, he realised that this was all part of a scam. He incurred losses of over €65,000.

Warning signs and red flags:

• Contact with claimed adviser made from social media.
• The person offering guidance or advice was not a licensed person.
• Communications through electronic devices only, with no in-person meetings.
• Consumer urged to invest quickly or lose opportunities for easy profits.
• Frequent and ongoing requests for additional funds to be invested.
• Indications of easy substantial profits occurring over a short period of time.
• Urgent request for payments to access or withdraw your funds.

Disclaimer: This account is based on a real-life case investigated by the authorities. While the events and figures described are factual, names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.