SINGAPORE: A boom in scams all over the world, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, has left people everywhere vulnerable. Residents of Singapore, one of the wealthiest nations, may be a frequent target for scammers, and would do well to keep up to date with the latest schemes that could end up with them inadvertently losing a lot of money.
One of the most recent scam methods is the so-called “foreigner-butchering scams.” This particular scheme may be considered to be a variant of pig butchering, which happens when someone gains the trust of a person over time and convinces them to invest their money in something sketchy.
Foreigner-butchering, however, is practised by scammers from China who target foreigners, due to the belief spread by some fraudsters that it is not wrong, or perhaps even patriotic, to scam other nationalities, CNA reported earlier this week.
What is foreigner-butchering?
As the name implies, the term underlines the specific target of the scam. CNA added that thousands of Chinese scammers have been deported over the past years. With few job opportunities due to their criminal records, they revert to scamming again, with particular victims in their sights.
The report cited a case wherein victims from India were targeted, and more than 66,000 people lost a total of US$5 million (around S$6.5 million).
As with other scams, what has aided would-be foreigner-butchers has been social media. Perpetrators of this type of scam rely heavily on fake profiles, stolen photos, catfishing, and the like.
In a report published in October, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime noted the relationship between China and Myanmar’s notorious scam centres, but added that “Chinese scam operations have surged, with a twist. A new, ‘patriotic’ form of fraud has emerged: 杀洋盘 (shā yáng pán)’, a play on words based on the pig-butchering scam.”
“‘Chinese don’t scam Chinese … we only scam Japanese,’ boasted one scammer. ‘We only scam foreigners,’ was the motto of another. The phenomenon began to spread on an unprecedented scale,” the report reads.
Unfortunately, this new scam and other types only seem to be growing, sparking responses from different governments, including the United States, which established a “scam-center strike force” to target Southeast Asian crypto-investment fraud operations that victimise Americans.
How to protect yourself from “foreigner-butchering” and other scams
Protecting oneself from this new type of scam is similar to how you would do so with other types. By now, we should all be familiar with a scam’s red flags, such as receiving unsolicited messages on apps or social media, online relationships that develop quickly, and photos that are too perfect-looking.
One thing to look out for is when these new online acquaintances contact you every day and even mirror your personality as part of the effort to gain your trust.
They very soon introduce investments such as crypto, forex, gold trading, or a “side income,” and show screenshots of unrealistically high returns.
Sometimes, they’ll allow victims to earn some money from their investments, which only whets their appetites for more.
In this day and age, netizens should also be very careful of their social media presence, limiting personal information that scammers can easily use when speaking to their victims.
To protect oneself, one can choose to make their profile private, remove personal data, and avoid sharing financial milestones.
Remember that scammers rely on people’s emotions, particularly loneliness and desire for relationships and a better financial future. Strengthening your actual relationships is also a good way to scam-proof your life, as you can discuss any type of investment you’re interested in with someone you trust, who can lead you to offline to registered, and credible institutions. /TISG
