Financial Action Task Force Reports Tens of Billions Lost Annually to Global Pig Butchering Scams
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released a new report detailing the massive and global scale of 'pig butchering' scams, estimating annual losses in the tens of billions of dollars. These scams, which are a type of long-term online fraud, typically involve perpetrators building trust with victims over weeks or months through romance or friendship, then encouraging them to invest in fraudulent opportunities, often involving cryptocurrency. The term 'pig butchering' refers to the process of 'fattening the pig' (building trust) before 'butchering' it (defrauding the victim). The FATF report, titled 'Combating End-to-End Illicit Financial Flows linked to Scam Compounds,' highlights that these scam operations are not confined to Southeast Asia but are active across Africa, Europe, the Americas, and other parts of Asia. The report also notes that many low-level individuals involved in these scams are themselves victims of human trafficking, forced into carrying out online fraud.
