FDIC Shares Consumer and Bank Resources: Pig Butchering Scam

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) Office of Inspector General recently shared scam alert flyers about a prevalent scam – Pig Butchering – one designed for consumers and one designed for banks.

The scam is named for the practice of fattening a pig for slaughter. It is a type of confidence and investment fraud in which the victim is gradually lured into making increasing monetary contributions, generally in the form of cryptocurrency, to a seemingly sound investment before the scammer disappears with the contributed monies.

WBA alerted members to this scam in Compliance Journal and Compliance Corner in 2023, but unfortunately the scam has gained momentum.

Typically, perpetrators contact victims out of nowhere via text, DMs on social media platforms, or on dating apps. Relationships are cultivated and victims are encouraged to open accounts on online investment websites. After money is invested, victims who have been threatened with the demise of the relationship if they don’t invest additional funds are often locked out of accounts and instructed to pay extra fees. Ultimately the perpetrators vanish with the victim’s funds.

Click here for the consumer scam alert.
Click here for the bank scam alert.

Click here to access WBA’s Consumer Resources. You’ll find a variety of helpful Consumer Content resources to share with your customers.
Click here to access WBA’s Best Practice Library for numerous scam resources under the Security/Financial Crimes Best Practices.

Note: The Best Practices Library is exclusively for WBA members, who can contact questions@wisbank.com to retrieve the password.