INTERPOL is calling for a linguistic shift that aims to put to an end to the term “pig butchering,” instead advocating for the use of “romance baiting” to refer to online scams where victims are duped into investing in bogus cryptocurrency schemes under the pretext of a romantic relationship.
“The term ‘pig butchering’ dehumanizes and shames victims of such frauds, deterring people from coming forward to seek help and provide information to the authorities,” the agency said in a statement.
The cryptocurrency theft scheme first appeared in China around 2016, but has since proliferated across the world over the years. It has its origins in the Chinese phrase “杀猪盘” (“shā zhū pán”), which literally translates to “pig butchering,” a reference to the practice of fattening a pig before slaughter.
In a similar vein, the investment fraud often involves fraudsters contacting prospective targets on social media and dating apps, slowly gaining their trust over extended periods of time before manipulating them into making phony investments and ultimately disappearing with their funds.
These schemes have links to transnational organized crime groups operating out of Southeast Asia, with the threat actors also trafficking people into infamous scam compounds in the region with the promise of good jobs only to subject them to inhuman conditions and have their passports seized in order to force them to defraud strangers online.
“These sophisticated scams are run by multi-tiered organizations complete with an information technology team responsible for delivering mobile and web apps convincing enough to fool targets into believing that they are legitimate trading platforms,” cybersecurity company Sophos noted in an analysis of “CryptoRom” campaigns in August 2023.
Earlier this year, Google, which filed a lawsuit in the U.S. against two Chinese app developers for engaging in such scams, said it does not endorse the use of the term “pig butchering.” The tech giant is tracking the activities under the name “international online consumer investment fraud scheme.”
INTERPOL said the term “romance baiting” acknowledges the psychological triggers used by scammers and puts the focus on the perpetrators rather than the victims of the cyber crime.
“Words matter. We’ve seen this in the areas of violent sexual offences, domestic abuse, and online child exploitation. We need to recognize that our words also matter to the victims of fraud,” INTERPOL Acting Executive Director of Police Services Cyril Gout said.
“It’s time to change our language to prioritize respect and empathy for the victims, and to hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes.”
