The Rise of Pig-Butchering Scams: Can Content Moderation Stop the Slaughter?

Pig-butchering scams, a type of cryptocurrency fraud, have been rapidly proliferating worldwide, driven by the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the lack of robust regulatory frameworks to govern them. These scams can start on dating apps, text message, email, social media or messaging apps, then ultimately move to scammer-controlled accounts on crypto apps or scam websites masquerading as investment platforms. These elaborate schemes, which involve luring victims into fake investments, leave victims financially devastated. University of Texas at Austin’s 2024 research study conducted by John M. Griffin and Kevin Mei placed global losses from pig butchering at $75 billion.

The term “pig-butchering” comes from the idea that scammers “fatten up” their victims over time, building trust, convincing them to invest larger sums, and ultimately “slaughtering” them when they are most vulnerable. As these scams continue to grow, questions arise: can content moderation prevent this financial slaughter, or are these fraudulent operations too sophisticated to be mitigated by current moderation strategies?

The Pig-Butchering Compounds

During the COVID-19 pandemic, scam compounds run by organised criminal organisations emerged in the Asia Pacific region as one of the major sources of pig-butchering. Although the compounds are mostly based in Asia, they target people across the globe. Unsuspecting job seekers are often lured to the compounds with job postings on local job boards, forums, and recruitment platforms and are then forced to work as online scammers, often under the threat of physical and sexual abuse. The scale is unprecedented, with the US Institute of Peace estimating that up to 300,000 people are forced into scamming others around the world by these criminal groups.

These criminal organisations are highly persistent, well-funded, and constantly evolving to evade detection, including by law enforcement. They operate across borders and on multiple platforms, making it difficult for any one company or country to have a full view of their operations. This underscores the importance of cross-industry and cross-border collaboration to combat them.

Case Study: Meta’s Approach to Disrupting Pig-Butchering

Over the past two years, Meta has established dedicated teams and systems to identify and target scam hotspots worldwide, following its Dangerous Organizations and Individuals (DOI) and safety policies. Meta has also formed key partnerships internally and with external stakeholders with a goal of protecting people from pig-butchering scams. Some of the measures they have taken include:

• DOI Detection & Enforcement: Actively monitoring designated DOIs for attempts to bypass enforcement. This includes identifying new scam operations globally and persistently disrupting them. In the past year, Meta has removed over two million accounts linked to scam centers in countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the UAE, and the Philippines. Meta also updates its behavioural and technical detection signals to automate the blocking of malicious activity and prevent repeat offenses.

• Cross-Industry Collaboration: Collaborating with industry peers who are also focused on preventing criminal organisations from targeting users. For example, when a new scam operation in Cambodia attempted to target people speaking Japanese and Chinese, Meta was alerted by OpenAI, which had detected and disrupted efforts to use their tools to translate scam content. Meta also shared information about scam centers it had dismantled to assist further investigations across the web.

• Product Enhancements: On Messenger and Instagram direct messages, Meta provides warnings to alert users about potentially suspicious interactions or unsolicited messages from unknown individuals, helping them pause and assess before responding. On WhatsApp, if users are added to a group chat by someone they do not know, Meta now shows a context card with details about the group, including who added them, when the group was created, and who created it, giving users more context about the interaction.

Operation Shamrock

One of the most notable experts in combating these scams is Erin West, whose work in tracking and exposing pig-butchering operations has brought much-needed attention to the issue. Erin West, former Deputy District Attorney for Santa Clara County has been at the forefront of efforts to uncover and dismantle these networks. Erin leads the Crypto Coalition, a group of more than 1,000 local, state, federal and international law enforcement agents who specialise in cryptocurrency investigation. Through Operation Shamrock, a collaborative initiative aimed at tackling cryptocurrency crimes, Erin and a wider team work tirelessly to educate as many people as possible about this cybercrime crisis.

Erin West’s insights into the operations of these criminal organisations have highlighted some of the strategies used to prevent content moderation from being effective. Scammers are highly adaptive and often use sophisticated tactics, such as creating fake social media profiles with carefully curated stories and pretending to be financial experts. They also use encrypted messaging apps, making it harder for content moderation teams to detect and block their activities. Furthermore, these scammers are skilled at evading platform filters by constantly changing tactics and adapting their messages to circumvent detection.

Key Takeaways

Content moderation alone may not be enough to fully stop the rise of pig-butchering scams. A multi-layered approach, which includes enhanced user education, collaboration between platforms, stronger regulation of cryptocurrency markets, and leveraging technologies like blockchain analytics (the use of specialized tools and techniques to analyze, interpret, and track activity on blockchain networks), is crucial to tackling these fraudsters. While platforms continue to improve their ability to detect and block harmful content, experts like West urge a more holistic strategy that addresses the root causes of these scams, such as the unregulated nature of cryptocurrency and the lack of digital literacy among some users.

Pig-butchering scams are a growing threat in the world of cryptocurrency, and content moderation is just one piece of the puzzle in preventing these scams. As the tactics of scammers continue to evolve, it’s clear that a coordinated effort involving multiple stakeholders is necessary to truly stop the slaughter.

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