Romance Scam

Scammers look for targets on various social platforms. After getting to know the victims’ interests, scammers easily win the victims’ affection and start an online romantic relationship. Then, scammers use a plethora of reasons to ask for money. Scammers and victims never meet in real life.

Also, scammers induce the victims to participate in investment on fake investment platforms after a romantic relationship is established. Initially, victims would make small profits, but after putting in more money the victims would end up suffering huge losses. The fraud is also known as the “Pig-butchering Scam”.

    [How Traditional Romance Scam Works]

Professionals
Scammers usually claim to be professionals, such as engineers or management officers in international corporations who come from Western countries but currently working in South East Asia. They communicate with the victims in English and ask them for money using different reasons.

Excuses, excuses
Scammers falsely claim that they need to pay a large medical bill or need cash urgently;

Scammers falsely claim that they have sent victims precious “gifts” from overseas which are held in customs and ask victims to pay the clearance fees/handling fee.

Never met in real life
Victims have never seen the scammers (be it in person or through video call). After scammers receive money, they delete their social media accounts, phone numbers or email addresses, cutting off contact with the victims completely.

    [How “Pig-butchering Scam” Works]

Pig Seeking
Scammers pretend to be wealthy millennials and look for targets on social platforms or dating apps and keep chasing them to establish romantic relationships shortly.

Pig Feeding
Scammers induce victims to invest in securities, foreign exchange or virtual assets on fake investment platforms or by using fake mobile apps. In the beginning, scammers would let victims make small profits.

Pig Butchering
When the victims make profits and request to cash out, the fake platform administrator will make up reasons to delay processing the request and lure the victims to make an even greater investment which causes the victims to suffer a huge loss.

(The video is in Cantonese)

    Anti-fraud advice
- Use the search engine to search for photos shown on the other party’s social accounts
- Check whether the friend circle of the other party’s account is abnormal
- If you have doubts about the identity of the other party, try to talk to the other party via video calls
- Do not download apps from unknown sources
- Beware of investment plans with unrealistic returns
- If in any doubt, call the fraud prevention hotline 18222

(Source：Website of Cyber Defender)