DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) – Miami-Dade Police are investigating a string of online crimes that target people’s crypto wallets and life savings.
Investigators said these crimes, known as “pig butchering” or “pig slaughtering,” are on the rise.
MDPD Sgt. Bridget Doyle with the department’s Cyber Crimes Investigations Unit, said these criminals target many demographics
“They don’t care who the victim is, they don’t care what the victim looks like, they don’t care about the victim’s financial status is,” she said. “They don’t care about anything having to do with them. They are doing a job like anybody else.”
Doyle described the elaborate scam, which unfolds over an extended period of time.
“They want to fatten up their target victim until they’ve gotten enough information from them or sweetened the deal enough where they feel like they’re going to get the most amount of money they possibly can out of a person. Then they take that pig to slaughter,” she said.
Investigators said victims receive an anonymous text message or phone call, and the stranger on the other end works to gain their trust.
“Once they gain their trust, they casually move the conversation to, usually, cryptocurrency investments,” said Doyle. “They’ll provide you with a cryptocurrency platform that a family member has started or that a friend has been using, and they’re seeing a high yield or a high return on their investment.”
But police said that…
