The clever tech powering a wave of pig-butchering scams

Pig-butchering scams are getting more sophisticated — and more costly — by the day.One report found criminals have swindled an estimated $75 billion from victims.

And just recently, a criminal organization in Asia was taken down, adding another $46 million to that tally.Win an iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence ($999 value). No purchase necessary. Enter to win now!I’ve talked to lots of pig-butchering victims.One guy called my national radio show because a woman DMed him on Facebook about a crypto investment.

He gave her money and did not want to believe me when I told him he was being set up for “slaughter.”No surprise, AI is making these crimes a lot easier to pull off.I’ve got the scoop on the latest tricks so you don’t fall for them.Pig-butchering scams rely on a formula.

It starts all lovey-dovey with promises of quick riches over the course of months to “fatten you up.” Then, once they have your trust, they send you to “slaughter” with a crypto or other financial scam.In the past, these scammers would say no to video chats so you didn’t know your new “girlfriend” or mysterious financial advisor is really a network of clever criminals.Now, they have deepfake software good enough to face-swap in real time.

With just a click, the person on the other end of your video chat can change their appearance and “prove” they’re who they claim they are.These scams, though, won’t work without a strong internet connection.That’s hard to come by in many of the countries where pig-butchering schemes originate.

To solve that problem, crooks are buying Starlink satellite dishes.The U.N.reports 80 Starlink satellite units were seized in Southeast Asia between April and June of this year.

Thai police rounded up 58 devices in June alone.In another bust, law enforcement picked up 10 Starlink satellites and almost 5,000 preregistered SIM cards. “Crypto draining” is another scamming technique on the rise.

The criminal sen...