I want to raise awareness on the Pig-Butchering scam or Sha Zhu Pan in Chinese. So called because victims are patiently worked on every day for 1-3 months before scamming them big time, like fattening up a pig before slaughter. They have extremely well-planned operations and have really been successful in the Chinese-speaking world. Sha Zhu Pan scam has become one of the top Chinese buzzwords in 2019-2020.
Victims are scammed on average $24k, and millions in total have been lost. It's a huge cottage industry that Chinese police has had a hard time stamping out. There are scores of recent news stories, blogs, video clips, and other media online about Sha Zhu Pan victims and scammers. Sadly, almost all are in Chinese. I think the rest of the world has to wise up to this, because now as most Chinese are becoming aware of this Pig-Butchering Scam, the scammers are turning their skills more towards non-Chinese, more so this year.
This first half is somewhat detailed because since everyone is generally aware of romance scams, being vague won't convince someone who is in the thick of it and thinks that his/her online friend is THE exception. Exposing specific details of the Pig-Butchering scam is most convincing to current victims that the "spontaneous" events are actually planned.
When I said well-planned operation, everything has been scripted and tailored to your stereotype. Whether you are a:
They have scripts for all that!
Generally, if you're a man, the girl shows lots of sexy or pretty pictures but act cold to you. If you're a woman, the guy constantly showers you with corny cliches and sweet nothings. Even the time to call you cute names is planned (2nd week)! They're experts at making you think you're making all the choices and "mistakes".
Maybe you weren't greedy for money initially, but they have their ways to make that come out of you.
New recruits, hosts, undergo some psychological training. Actually, it's brainwashing. Pigs are the people being prepared for scamming. They even have training manuals that they update often. It guides them on:
Employees are treated harshly. Those who don't make enough are fired and made to reimburse tickets, food and living expenses.
The Sha Zhu Pan scam industry is thriving so much that there are dedicated markets for creating and trading successful fake dating profiles, complete with pictures and social media history. Some pictures are pirated, but recently they are creating pictures in-house with professional equipment, with expensive (looking) clothing and props. Hence pictures can't be reverse image searched.
Recruits are from China, reeled in by advertisements for an "online shopping job", and also by friends of friends. They also earn income from Multi-Level Marketing style recruiting. Many of these operations have relocated to South East Asia.
Chinese police have raided some of these syndicates. There are former employees that have revealed some of the inner workings. All in-depth reports on the Sha Zhu Pan scam are in Chinese, unfortunately. I also have first-hand experience, which prompted me to look these all up. I can't post links here to recent Chinese news articles, blogs, news, news clippings, interviews but you can Google or find on YouTube many such on "Sha Zhu Pan".
This article was originally published by u/cannabiccino on Reddit.
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