Romance Baiting Scams and Modern Slavery
Valentine's Day is a time we celebrate people we love. However, it's also a time when scammers take advantage of people's hope to find love.
'Pig Butchering' or 'Romance Baiting' is an emerging scam that seeks out people looking for companionship and convinces them to invest in false crypto-currency schemes. The worst part is that often both the scammer and the scammed are victims.
We often think victims of scams need to be vulnerable or uneducated. But these scams specifically target educated, wealthy people. Through carefully created personas and promises of healthy investment portfolios, people have lost vast amounts of money. Statistics show Australians lost up to $4500 every hour to romance scammers in 2022*.
Scammers reach out to targets by sending a message via dating apps, social media or text messages, often employing a 'wrong number' tactic to establish a connection. They typically adopt the persona of a "good-looking, usually Asian man or woman, wealthy, usually a successful business owner or investor, who has investments in cryptocurrency, share market or in gold. They are looking for friendship but are too busy to meet but will in the future."*
This 'person' will spend time building a relationship, sometimes moving to a romantic or sexual relationship. They may send confessions of love, use pet names or exchange sexual images. They will also encourage the victim to dream of their life together, flaunting their wealth and encouraging the victim that they can have the same lifestyle.
When the victim asks how they can achieve this lifestyle, the scammer moves in to introduce them to a fake cryptocurrency or investment platform. “The victim "invests" and are shown how their investment is growing – when in fact it is fake and the money is in the hands of the offender."*
This can continue until the victim no longer wants to invest or wishes to take cash out. Often, the scammer will direct them to pay a fee to withdraw their money. Whether this is paid or refused, the victim finds that they can no longer contact the scammer.
We should all be wary of this type of scam – especially around Valentine's Day. However, we must also recognise that those scammed are not the only victims.
The scammers themselves are often victims of modern slavery. They are promised a good job and then held against their will and forced to run these scams – trapped by debt, stripped of their freedom and subjected to physical and sexual violence.
One survivor wrote: "From April-September 2022, I was forced to work in a scamming compound in Sihanoukville, Cambodia and was sold 4 times for as much as $10,000 to different companies that operated within the compound. It was a hell-like experience as the compounds used violence to control us, restricted our freedom, and forced us to be complicit in the scamming of innocent individuals across the US and Europe."**
These deceptive companies recruit educated people to run these schemes; often young professionals looking for work. They pose as legitimate employers, offering jobs with good salaries and luxury perks. When employees arrive, they soon realise they're unable to leave. Their documents and passports are taken, and they can't leave the complex under threat of violence or death.
They might also be told that they owe a debt for their freedom. Their employers want payment for transport or onboarding expenses that were never mentioned. This debt grows with the addition of 'air-breathing fees' or 'floor-wearing fees' – a system of debt designed to keep people trapped, unable to pay for their freedom.
Once trapped, they are forced to engage in these scams. A survivor shared "My company/enslaver specialised in scamming the North American market, and that's why they particularly want workers/slaves who understand English. My company has the ability to obtain endless new American phone numbers to send SMS to potential scamming victims. We send messages like 'hey are you going to the weekend party?' and once they reply 'you send it to the wrong person', we will reply really politely, and start making them fall in love with our characters. The goal is to make them invest in our platform. Some victims sold two houses and lost millions to my company/enslaver."**
These scams cheat both people who fall victim to them and sometimes even those forced to perform them.
While not every person involved is trapped in slavery, this form of modern slavery is becoming more prevalent. Anti-slavery organisations are working to raise awareness of this form of slavery and prevent and end these scams.
This Valentine's Day, be cautious of these scams, and help raise awareness for this form of modern slavery. Share this blog post to your channels, or start a conversation with your loved ones.
Recently we shared Oxana's story. Oxana survived this form of slavery and wanted her story told. Read her story here, and share it to help raise awareness of this form of slavery.
If you believe you are a victim of cybercrime, report it to ReportCyber.
If there is an imminent threat to your safety, call Triple Zero.
If you suspect that you, or someone you know, is being trafficked, find out more about how to spot the signs here.
To find out more about this form of modern slavery, you can read this report from the Mekong Club.
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