Episode 4 –  Pig Butchering Scam Steals $390,000

Episode 4 of ‘How I Got Hacked’ tells the story of Nikki Hutchinson, who fell victim to what’s known as a pig butchering scam, a form of social engineering scam. After meeting someone on an online dating app, Nikki made the mistake of trusting them with thousands of dollars in USDT—then she got her dad to ‘invest’ as well.

A pig butchering scam is when scammers build trust with victims over time through social media or dating platforms, manipulating them into investing in fake cryptocurrency schemes that ultimately drain their funds.

Getting Things Wrong

Mistake #1: Trusting a Stranger on The Internet

Pig butchering is a social engineering scam that originated in China. It involves scammers faking relationships with their victims and gaining their trust over time, before convincing them to invest in a fraudulent investment scheme.

“My father and I lost $390,000 in cryptocurrency through a scam, and now we are currently living in an RV.” 

While it’s always important to be vigilant online, any situation where someone is promising returns that sound too good to be true-as happened with Nikki-should especially set off alarm bells, as this is a telltale sign of a scam.

“He told me that, by the end of the month, I could be a millionaire.” 

Mistake #2: Using An Illegitimate trading platform

As a non-crypto user, Nikki was highly unlikely to know the difference between a legitimate crypto exchange and a fraudulent platform. Still, her case highlights the importance of triple-checking that the platforms you use to manage your digital assets are legitimate. 

“Your platform was fake, I can’t believe I lost all our life savings in this.”

$390,000

Nikki Hutchinson unwittingly handed over her family’s savings because of the complex social engineeering scam known as pig butchering

Doing It Right

Social engineering scams are dangerous because they target one of the most vulnerable elements of any security setup—you! 

The individuals and organizations carrying out these scams are incredibly good at gaining people’s trust and exploiting their emotions to ultimately steal from them. This creates a need for awareness about common tactics and a healthy skepticism when dealing with unexpected communications.

Awareness serves as the first line of defense, helping you to recognize warning signs like urgency, unsolicited requests for sensitive information, and offers that seem too good to be true. By understanding the psychological triggers scammers use and staying informed about evolving tactics, you can better protect yourself from these increasingly sophisticated threats.

To learn more about common crypto scams and how to avoid them, read our article on Ledger Academy.

Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of Episode 4 of ‘How I Got Hacked’ for the full story.