Crypto Romance Scams ('Pig Butchering') Cost Americans $3.8 Billion in 2023; FBI Warns of Epidemic Scale
Incident Details
Summary
'Pig butchering' (sha zhu pan) scams — where criminals build extended romantic or friendship relationships online before introducing cryptocurrency investment schemes and eventually draining victims' accounts — reached epidemic scale. The FBI reported Americans lost $3.8 billion to such scams in 2023, a 53% increase from 2022. Victims typically lose their entire savings over weeks or months. The scam operations are often run from crime compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos staffed by trafficked workers. Notable cases include a California widow (Sandra Liu) who lost $4.2M, and a San Francisco engineer (Shreya Datta) who lost $450K. The scheme exploits social isolation and loneliness, specifically targeting recently divorced or widowed individuals.
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