pig butchering

It’s odd isn’t it that such a very retro activity — fattening the pig and then slaughtering it for some festive occasion — should be the metaphor for modern-day scamming in which the victim is groomed for some time to gain the maximum amount of trust so that they can then be relieved of as much money as possible.  There are different types of scams that require this patient lead time but the common ones are the romance scam, the cryptocurrency scam and the investment scam.  For the first one true love is in the air, but for the other two simple friendship can suffice.  After some months in which the scammer flaunts their wealth, the victim finally asks how they are making so much money.  The pig is fattened and can now be lead down the path to slaughter by way of a bitcoin or investment scheme.

The term pig butchering is a translation of the Chinese term for the cryptocurrency scam which originated in China in 2016 and became widespread in South-East Asia. The Chinese name means literally ‘killing pig plate’.