The Ohio Department of Commerce is issuing an investor alert for Ohioans to be cautious when interacting with strangers on dating and messaging apps, email, and text messages — it could be part of a so-called “pig butchering” scam.
Named after the practice of fattening a pig before the slaughter, scammers feed their victims, too, but with promises of romance and outlandish investment returns before taking the victims’ money and cutting them off. “Pig-butchering” scams have grown dramatically in recent years, with individual investors sometimes losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The scam frequently targets victims on dating and messaging platforms using the false pretense of a romantic relationship or investment opportunity. Once trust is established, the scammer tricks victims into sending money to cryptocurrency or other trading accounts that the scammer controls.
“Instead of asking for money upfront, these romance scammers take their time because it’s the relationship they cultivate with the victims that creates a false sense of security,” said Ohio’s Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt. “Those digital ‘sweet nothings’ can leave investors with nothing though, so Ohioans should hold onto their hard-earned money until they’ve investigated the sweet-talker and the investment through an independent and reliable source.”
An unsolicited message from an unknown sender is one of the biggest red flags, but investors should also watch out for things like misspellings, grammatical errors, mysterious links, and high-pressure sales tactics involving investments. This is especially true for opportunities including cryptocurrency, which can be hard to recover. Investors should also be wary of messages from people expressing romantic interests that avoid live face-to-face interaction, such as through video chat. Hiding their true identity is a key tactic for these scammers.
“Anyone offering or selling securities or investment advice should generally be registered with the Ohio Division of Securities,” said Commissioner Seidt. “If a stranger messages you and tries to convince you to invest with them, or asks to trade money for you in any kind of security or cryptocurrency, do a quick background check first by contacting the Divisions’ Investor Protection Hotline at 1-877-683-7841 or via email at sg******@co*.gov.”
Staff can provide information about whether the person is registered to buy or sell securities or to offer investment advice, and whether they have had any regulatory actions or disciplinary events in their past. The staff can also do a registration check on the trading platform and the investment opportunity as well.
Romance scams
Romance scammers set online traps and use technology and social media platforms to profile targets. They also spend time getting to know people before asking for money or introducing an investment opportunity. Here are some common tactics and warning signs:
- Reluctance to meet in-person or by video. Most scammers avoid meeting face-to-face because often times they aren’t who they say there are.
- Wanting a long-distance relationship. Once you enter a “relationship” with an online romance scammer, they might tell you that they live far away, travel a lot for work, or have a job outside the country or area you live. They won’t offer to visit you and may discourage you from trying to visit them.
- Discussing wealth or business success. To interest you in investing, romance scammers may brag about how successful they are. They may flaunt their supposed wealth, using photos of luxury items, real estate, expensive cars, etc. They may offer to help you make money or become wealthy, often offering access to supposed inside information or trading secrets for trendy or complex investments, like cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
- Steering you to an online app or website. When you show a willingness to invest, a romance scammer may encourage you to use an investing app that they say they are using or a website that offers investments. The website or app may be controlled by the scammer or a criminal organization they are associated with. The scammer may also offer to teach you how to invest or trade, and then ask for remote access to your computer or request your online banking information.
How the text message scam works
Con artists send out innocent-looking texts to unwitting recipients they’ve never met. They often get information from public sources, auto-generators, and the Dark Web. The scammers’ messages are often vague, and are intended to elicit a response.
If the recipient responds – even with something innocent like “wrong number, sorry” – the scammer will attempt to draw them into conversation. Once the scammer has established a relationship, they typically try to convince the person to send them money or invest in cryptocurrency. They may encourage the person to start messaging them on a different app like Telegram, and then ask them to transfer funds to unregulated investing or cryptocurrency trading apps. Some scammers try to romance their target to hasten the transfer of funds, even promising to meet in person, which inevitably never happens.
These simple tactics can be very effective once trust is established.
Red flags of a wrong number text message scam
If you get a message from an unknown sender via text or through a messaging application, be on the lookout for these red flags:
- Misleading or incomplete information.
- Misspellings or grammatical errors.
- 10-digit or longer phone numbers.
- Mysterious links.
- Requests to respond.
- Any mention of investment opportunities including cryptocurrency.
- Images intended to create a personal connection; usually these are stock photos found online or copied from legitimate social media sites.
Protect yourself
- The best way to protect yourself is to ignore the message. Do not respond to any suspicious message, even if it requests that you “text STOP” to end any further messages.
- Do not click on any links included in the message.
- Never share sensitive personal or financial information by text or message app.
- File a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.
- Forward unwanted texts to SPAM (7726). This will help your wireless provider identify and prevent further texts from fraudulent numbers.
- Delete all suspicious texts.
- Update your smart device’s operating system and security apps.
- Consider installing anti-malware software.
- Review your mobile phone carrier’s policies regarding opting out of text alerts, and selling or sharing your information.
- Review text-blocking tools in your mobile phone settings, available third-party apps, and your mobile phone carrier’s offering.
The bottom line
Anyone offering or selling securities or investment advice must be registered with the Ohio Division of Securities unless exempted from registration.
If a stranger messages you and tries to convince you to invest with them, or asks to trade money for you in any kind of security or cryptocurrency, call the Divisions’ Investor Protection Hotline at 1-877-683-7841 or via email at sg******@co*.gov.
Division staff can provide information about whether the person is registered to buy or sell securities or to offer investment advice, and whether they have had any regulatory actions or disciplinary events in their past.
The Ohio Department of Commerce is Ohio’s chief regulatory agency. To learn more, visit www.com….
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