Pig butchering scams: how strangers online steal life savings
Wrong number texts: why a polite reply can start a pig butchering scam
A text from a stranger who got the wrong number seems harmless. You answer kindly, and you think that is the end. For some people, it is the start of a scam that takes their savings. Why would anyone text the wrong person on purpose?
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1
This is Rono. He just retired after 30 years as a music teacher, and his evenings are quiet now. One evening, a text comes from a number he does not know: "Hi! Are we still on for dinner at 7?"
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2
Rono is polite, so he answers: wrong number. She says sorry and thanks him. Her name is Nalia, she says, and she runs a flower shop. Then she asks how his evening is going.
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3
But this text was no mistake. The groups behind it send messages like this one to millions of people. They do not know who will get each one, and they do not care.
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4
Most people ignore it or block it. A few answer kindly, and the senders keep talking only to those few. Someone who answers a stranger may keep talking. This is often the first step of a scam known as pig butchering.
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5
You live next door to Rono, and on Thursdays you play cards together. Tonight he shows you his phone: he made a new friend by accident. She writes so nicely, he says.
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6
For weeks, Nalia writes every morning and every night. She sends photos of her flowers and asks about his day. And she never asks for anything.
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Go further
A few names behind the story.