“Pig butchering”: another $47 million belonging to scammers has been frozen

In recent years, so-called “pig butchering gangs” have evolved into powerful criminal organizations that have defrauded victims around the world of billions of dollars. GetBlock AML Research reveals the modus operandi of one such fraudulent group in Asia.

This type of fraud is also known as “investment” or “romantic” fraud. The essence is simple: the attackers first “fatten up” the victim, that is, win their trust, and then defraud them of as much money as possible. It usually starts with an innocent acquaintance — for example, through a “wrong number” message or a dating app. Gradually, the scammers build a relationship of trust and convince the victim to invest in supposedly profitable investments, most often related to cryptocurrencies. When the person transfers the money, contact is abruptly cut off.

The tragedy is that the victims are not only those who have lost their savings. To operate these schemes, criminals lure other people with deception — promising them legal work abroad, but in reality depriving them of their freedom, locking them up in guarded complexes, and forcing them to work under duress: sending messages, conducting correspondence, and maintaining the appearance of real investments.

For example, in November 2023, it became known about a major investigation that froze about $225 million in stablecoins. This money was directly linked to an international human trafficking network in Southeast Asia that was involved in romance and investment scams. Later, in the summer, the US Secret Service obtained a court order to seize and permanently destroy these funds. This was the largest confiscation in the agency’s history.

According to Tether representatives, the company uses its technical capabilities to freeze illegal funds and actively cooperates with law enforcement agencies around the world to stop such crimes and return money to victims.

Last year, another major scam was uncovered: a “pig butchering” scheme operating in Southeast Asia, through which approximately $50 million in stablecoins passed. Joint action by international organizations and local authorities made it possible to freeze these funds.

How did the scheme work?

The investigation revealed that victims transferred money to the scammers’ crypto wallets over a period of months — some sent funds several times in a short period, while others sent money regularly over a six-month period. All the money was gradually transferred to one main wallet and then redistributed to a chain of other addresses. In total, the attackers transferred nearly $47 million while concealing the traces of the transfers.

Visualization by Chainalysis

Consolidation of stolen funds in a single wallet belonging to the fraudsters

To instill confidence in their victims and maintain the illusion of real investments, the fraudsters sometimes even made small reverse transfers — sending symbolic amounts of “profits” to reassure people that their investments were working. After that, trust grew, and the victims agreed to even larger transfers.

In the end, it was through these details — small returns, a chain of wallets, and repeated transfers — that law enforcement agencies were able to piece together what was happening. This allowed them to track down the organizers and freeze millions of dollars that were saved from being laundered.