Binance Warns of Escalating Pig Butchering Scams – What's Going On?

cryptonews.com:

The number of 'pig butchering scam' cases reported to Binance has increased by 100.5% from 2022 to date, the exchange said.

Binance warned that the number of reported pig butchering scam cases doubled over the past year.

Scammers are drawn to whatever is gaining popularity: "Wherever there’s an opportunity to promise high returns with minimal risks, a pig butchering scam can take place."

Blockchain and digital assets have seen increased adoption, higher demand, and recognition, Binance said, drawing attention from all sorts of scammers. 

Per the exchange,

"Pig butchering scams have experienced a worrying upsurge in the crypto space, fueled by the growing interest in digital-asset investments. This rise is part of an overall increase in investment scams across all finance-related industries."

Losses from investment fraud jumped 127% from $1.45 billion in 2021 to $3.31 billion in 2022, a "significant" portion of which involved crypto. 

Crypto investment fraud cases went up 183%, from $907 million in 2021 to $2.57 billion in 2022, Binance wrote.

The exchange's internal data and research recorded "a roughly 100% increase" in the number of reported pig butchering scams from 2022 to 2023 - a figure that will likely rise by the year's end.

Per Binance,

"This surge in crypto-related scams can be connected to the influx of inexperienced investors entering the market, with scammers seizing the opportunity to exploit their lack of knowledge about a new asset class."

Blockchain, however, makes it easier to track and fight these scams, as transactions are public and traceable. As such, it is "a powerful tool" for gathering evidence and taking action against scammers.

'Pig butchering' consists of scammers 'fattening up' their victims - commonly