Pig Butchering

What Does Pig Butchering Mean in a Text?

Definition of Pig Butchering

"Pig Butchering" is a brutal, long-con scam where a fraudster spends weeks or months building a fake relationship with you before convincing you to invest in an opportunity you "can't afford to miss." It's a mix of a romance scam and financial fraud that preys on your trust and can wipe out your savings in one go.

"I Think There's Something Special Between Us..."

🛡️The key defense against Pig Butchering is a simple rule: never send money or invest in anything on the advice of someone you only know online.

A Five-Step Plan

There are usually five steps to the Pig Butchering scam:

• Step 1. The Random Slide Into Your DMs 💬
It starts with a seemingly harmless message/like/follow from a stranger on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, LinkedIn, or even dating apps like Hinge. It's often a "wrong number" text or a friendly compliment on your social media story. The profile is always a legit-looking, attractive person (a "catfish"). You'll be drawn into a low-stakes, casual conversation. No talk of money yet.
• Step 2. The Trust-Building Era 👫❤️
This is the core of the scam. The scammer invests serious time to build a genuine-seeming connection. They text daily, share their life, send pictures, and even voice notes. They become a digital pen pal or romantic interest. They're Relatable: They'll talk about their goals, their family, and introduce their "amazing" hustle that is making them a fortune. They're crafting a persona of a successful, savvy, and kind individual. There's no attempt to pitch you anything - yet. This phase can last for weeks or even months. The longer it goes on, the more invested you become.
• Step 3. The Soft Launch of the "Opportunity" 💸
Once trust is fully established, they casually introduce the idea of financial gain. It's rarely a direct ask. They might say, "Oh, I just made some easy returns on this crypto trading platform," or "I just made an amazing sale on my drop shipping gig." They present it as them sharing a privileged secret with you, because you're "special." They're not asking for your money. Instead, they're showing you their "grind."
• Step 4. The "Hook" 🪝
They'll guide you to a fake website or app that they control. To prove it's "legit," they might tell you to make a small initial investment and help you "earn" a profit. You'll see your balance skyrocket on the fake platform's dashboard. They'll encourage you to withdraw that small profit to prove it works (which you can do, to further build trust). This is the point of no return. You're hooked. Now comes the pressure to go all-in. They'll tell you about a "can't-miss" opportunity and encourage you to invest your life savings, take out loans, or borrow from family.
• Step 5. The "Butchering" 🔪
When you have invested all you've got and try to withdraw your "fortune," the excuses hit: you need to pay huge "taxes" or "fees" first. You pay those, and then... nothing. The website disappears, and your main character ghosts you forever. The money is gone, routed through crypto and untraceable.

All That Glitters Isn't Gold ☠️

There is usually also a romantic element to Pig Butchering.

Summary of Key Points

Pig Butchering
Definition:	Online Scam
Type:	Word
Guessability:	4: Difficult to guess
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

An Academic Look at Pig Butchering

🧑🏾‍🏫"Pig Butchering" Is the accepted name used by cybersecurity experts, law enforcement, and media outlets to formally describe this specific type of investment fraud. It's a direct translation of the Chinese phrase shā zhu pán (杀猪盘). It is a noun phrase, composed of a noun, "pig," acting as an adjective to modify the gerund "butchering," which is functioning as a noun.

Example of Pig Butchering Used in a Text

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