Pig Butchering Scams

I don't really understand how foolish someone has to be to lose their entire savings to someone online they've never met.

I think the elderly get targeted because people in the Boomer generation (or older) have a strong drive to follow orders and/or oblige anyone who they perceive to be in a position of authority. But when it happens in a romance scam kind of thing, I find it more shocking than anything.

[quote] Pig Butchering Scams

Welcome to Bitcoin

I had a friend who was targeted and fell for it - everyone told him it was a scam. The scammer started talking to him about bitcoin (or something like that); however, my friend was smart enough to question. And, when that happened, the scammer viciously attacked - name calling, etc.

The guy was real, would do live chats but didn't want to exchange nude pics and no dirty talk. The guy was probably straight.

Guys, beware - you know who you can attract.

Lovely name

r1 as a boomer we could also trust most people as they had honor which seems to no longer exist.

I've seen one or two posts here that made me worried a DLer was the target of a romance scam. Stuff like this is exploding over the last couple of years.

They're all going to laugh at you!

[quote]I think the elderly get targeted because people in the Boomer generation (or older) have a strong drive to follow orders and/or oblige anyone who they perceive to be in a position of authority.

Absolutely one of the stupidest things I have ever read on the internet.

As a boomer, I can confidently assert that we have NO drive to follow orders and/or oblige anyone who we perceive to be in a position of authority

My mom’s elderly cousin, who’s 94, got conned over the phone. We’re not sure exactly what he thought he was getting into because he kept describing a sweeptstakes where he was going to get $1.0M, then $11.0M, if he kept sending money. He was secretive about the whole thing, but kept sending money orders somewhere in the US (we’re in Canada), and ended up sending them almost $100g. They apparently kept telling him if he’d just send $X amount he was guaranteed to win. Pretty much wiped out what savings he had. My mom told the cops and took in a bunch of money order receipts and phone numbers, and the cops said there probably won’t be anything they can do.

[quote] Dear christ, you're dumb. I mean, really dumb.

Dear christ, you’re a cunt. I mean, really a cunt.

It’s not just the elderly. A relative (woman in her early 50s) was conned out of $450,000 by someone posing as an architect. He wooed her and got her to invest in his “building” somewhere overseas.

I just don't understand how people can be so gullible.

R12, in fact, these people ARE gullible. It’s just their nature.

White Americans are soooo naïve! So busy running away from people of color, and straight into the waiting traps of those they deem trustworthy.

It’s the notion that you can get money for nothing, and the chicks for free.

Are you kidding r14? You think being swindled is only a white thing?

Hahaha Darwin is having fun with this one.

Targeting gays for donations.. Full time beggar. Accepts pesos. Beware.

You can go on Youtube and check out a channel that assists the people who get caught up in romance/pig butchering scams -- some who pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars for love and/or greed. It's bad that some lose their life savings but you shake your head that people can be so gullible.

Today's story was about a widowed nurse who "fell in love" with a man working on a oil rig (common scam scenario) who needed her help ($$$) getting some equipment to finish his last contracted job. As soon as this was taken care of, he would be able to fly to her waiting arms and marry her. She sent the insurance money from her husband, opened credit cards, cashed in her retirement, took out loans, etc. all to a guy she had only ever texted. She found out that all of her money was going to Ghana. She was so desperate for love, it clouded all of her judgement.

R19 Can you please post a link to that YouTube channel

R8, okay, Boomer!

[quote] —is your dementia kicking in, dear?

Has “adulting” kicked in yet, dear?

[quote]I just don't understand how people can be so gullible.

There’s a sucker born every minute!

I have been receiving messages and texts like that all the time lately. I am surprised that people have that much money, to be honest.

There’s a great book/audiobook called The Pig Butchering Scam: How I Fell For It & Everything I Learned by an anonymous author called M.L. Great piece of investigative journalism. Available as an audiobook too.

People actually believe that other humans want to help them. It’s foolish beyond measure. In truth, all humans are enemies and existence is constant suffering. Those who succeed at life feed on conflict and enjoy conquering others.

A friend of mine had her bank account drained by a conman. My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I thought he was sus because he supposedly had a job but was missing a front tooth and was always wearing the same sweater that had a moth hole in it. He was, we decided, not a catch.

But my friend had a handicap. She had a limp. Some of our coworkers made fun of her and believed she shouldn’t be working as a nurse because she was too handicapped. My friend was hurt by that and knew other people made fun of her, but was determined to be a nurse. She was very good to her patients.

I think her handicap made her susceptible to a conman. She didn’t date much and got very close to this guy ver6 fast. The worst part - she was fixed up with the guy by a fellow coworker of hers. (We were no longer working together at the time she started dating this guy). The coworker knew her brother was a con. When my friend found out the guy had swindled her she said to her coworker, “How could you do that to me? You knew what he was like.” The coworker said, “I thought you’d be good for him. I thought he’d straighten out with a nice girlfriend like you.”

He got away with it by moving to TX. Local cops told her they couldn’t get involved because he was no longer in their jurisdiction and said Tx cops wouldn’t do anything about it because he hadn’t committed a crime in a TX jurisdiction.

I wonder if some people who get involved with conmen have something that makes them susceptible to cons

The scammers don't even hide it well. Same person. Both photos on the same day.

Facebook. "I am so hungry. I am eating mustard. Can anyone help?."

Twitter. Different user name. Hitting the pipe.

[quote]Pig Butchering Scams

Is there any bacon involved?

I love fucking with them.

This is one from Saturday.

How can people be so absolutely braindead stupid about scams in 2023? I will never understand it.

r31 Did you somehow miss the 2016 presidential election?

AARP is running a series of commercials about scams aimed at seniors including romance scams, computer assistance scams, and pet scams. Obviously there's a great deal of profit in them for scammers.

Don't know if it's true, but I read that the "Nigerian prince" and foreign lotto spam-scam emails are purposely written in an amateur style in order to weed out anyone but the very most gullible. It would make sense; the scammer doesn't want to waste time on someone with a functioning brain cell.

Ohhhhhh…I wondered why scammers always misspell words and use fouled up grammar in their scams.

Pet scams? How?

I guess I’m not.

“If you’re like most people, you’ve received a text or chat message in recent months from a stranger with an attractive profile photograph.”

R30 you have me rolling I'm laughing so hard. I would love to have the balls to do that but I am a lesbian and feel icky to text like you. I need to get over myself don't I?

R31 Many people are naive enough to believe someone 10000x more attractive than them could or would fall in love at first sight or whatever. Talk to average people - they have an incredibly childlike view of the world mostly informed by stories and movies and tv shows.

R1 talking about boomers tells me that in five years R1 will be cutting a nipple off because someone calls and tells her that if she doesn't a puppy will die.

R39, people con themselves; they see what they want to see, for whatever emotional or psychological reason. That’s why cons look stupid to an outsider.

[quote]Pet scams? How?

The scammers make a fake dog adoption site and when you express interest in a dog they tell you he's a few states away and ask for a "delivery fee" to drive the dog you've fallen in love with to you. Then on the way the car breaks down and they need $500 more to fix the car to get there. The dog never arrives because he wasn't even real to begin with!

People are so terribly, awfully lonely. They basically hand over their entire bank account for just a few minutes of fake, online "affection".

I saw a Tshirt advertised online recently. It read:

"People:

(line of 5 stars, one star only marked)

Fucking lunatics. Do not recommend."

You can't con an honest man.... greed feeds grift

You can tell who on this thread has elderly loved ones and who doesn't.

Having said that, the word "elderly" might be superfluous. Some of you just live for blaming victims.

People don't "con themselves" and those who are conned aren't necessarily "greedy." Con artists target easy marks and they're very good at preying on vulnerable people and manipulating them emotionally.

Another asshole on my phone.

They don’t seem to realize I am an old gay cunt who reads Datalounge.

Now she’s claiming she’s “Musk’s daughter.”

Some people are easy marks, but anyone can be conned because everyone has some vulnerability. It doesn’t have to be greed, it can be loneliness, fear, guilt, a desire not to offend or kindness. And our law enforcement agency and legal systems have inadequate means of adequately responding.

[R49] True, I got conned by one of those people claiming to fix dents in your car. I kept saying no but I caved when the guy said he had a hungry baby at home.

You seem very lonely r47 / r48.

Agree with r49

If you're on Scuff or Grindr and you're over 40, you are a HUGE target for these. Very attractive men (or pictures of them) will interact with you and there's a few tells: 1) Its a wildly attractive young man with abs talking to you 2) they aren't looking for sex--just romance and to find love. 3) they will soon try to move the conversation off grindr to telegram or whatsapp.

The romance angle is perfect because if it was just about sex, they wouldn't be able to meet up. so they're filtering guys who are looking to meet in person--which they can't do because they don't exist. They're also hitting up lonlier guys who don't get a ton of attention on an app. And when it happens, the interactions are similar enough that even if you're suspicious you might keep chatting because until they reveal themselves as scam artists (By trying to move you to a different communications app so they can start talking their scam) you wonder, is this person 100% definitely a fake?

R9

Contact the USPS inspectors. Seriously.

R30, I bow down. And I plan on stealing your shtick the next time I get one of these.

I did get one of these recently. Pretended to be a wrong number (“Oh, I’m so sorry…”) and pulled that line about “perhaps this is fate!” I knew it was bullshit and cut it off (sadly, without R30’s flair) but didn’t realize it was part of a trend. Yikes.

Some of these stories are really sad.

Very good point R32.

A few years ago, you used to be able to spew filth about scammers’ families and their likely religion to them on the phone. The text messages nowadays are less annoying, but you never get the chance to say naughty things lol

No satisfaction in swearing at a recording

[quote]I think the elderly get targeted because people in the Boomer generation (or older) have a strong drive to follow orders and/or oblige anyone who they perceive to be in a position of authority.

R1 You're referring to a generation of former hippies and 60's kids whose mantra was "question authority". Wise up.

I live in London. This was years ago. A guy came to my door, he was wearing like a workman’s jumpsuit, and he said he and his mate were in the neighbourhood cleaning windows and did I want my windows cleaned. I lived in the top floor of a 4 floor walk up, three bedrooms, lounge, etc. so of course I wanted my windows cleaned. I let him up to my flat - he was IN my flat - and I think we negotiated a price of like £30 or something, seemed like a real deal. I had to go out but he said they were working their way down the street, etc. I went out. They never cleaned my windows and I realised the whole thing was a scam. I didn’t care so much about the money but it disturbed me that I’d let this person in my flat and they flat out lied to my face and I believed it. It was chilling.

I immigrated to the UK and thought I’d lived here for years before this happened, it’s the kind of thing you go along with in a foreign country because you don’t know their customs. Though I’m sure they scammed other people too that day.

[quote] he was IN my flat - I had to go out. They never cleaned my windows and I realised the whole thing was a scam

Sounds like a gypsy/traveler scam.

Leaving strangers unmonitored in your premises, that was totally on you. I never have maintenance in that I don't keep an eye on them. You got off easy if all you lost was that initial payment.

Is the DL school marm who has a hard-on for OCD hating the grifting Ja$on Dottley, the same DL school marm who has a hard-on for OCD hating the grifting Kevin Se$$um$?

About 10 years ago I was 50 and still cruising on aps and this gorgeous Tunisian young man was hot for daddies. We met several times but never at my place. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, he was thieving from the apartments of many other old coots in town, stupid enough to invite him over. Never much - petty things to things valuing a couple hundred bucks. He'd have the sex! And never ask for money. But compelled to steal.

I mention this anecdote in reference to R53.

Anyway I was always a curious type and I loved seeing how young tricks lived and operated and fucked in their own settings. Also if they invite you over, it means they actually might be into the sex, not just ripping off "daddies" they perceive as "wealthy", in comparison.

I quit the meat market the first months of Covid and haven't gone back. Retired.

Ignore r51, r48. I think you're hilarious and keep them coming!

Here's the link for the YouTube channel that posts the various scams that people are being duped with. I've linked a pig butchering one but most of the others are romance scams.

Guy in R65 link: “I’m not stupid…”

R5, yeah, things were so much better in the Jim Crow days. Everyone was a saint and no one ran scams!

After watching a few of the men romance scams, it’s basically the same story. Old guy with a bit of money gets fleeced. The gist is these men feel entitled to buy a woman’s love and sex. Perpetuated by a million movies, books and now social media.

The women romance scams are another story.

I had an interesting experience with a man (Gene) who I paid to do yard work for me. I knew he was a former drug addict, but he did the work and was fairly inexpensive. One day he showed up with a pretty young woman and asked if they could talk to me. She launched into a story about having a daughter who lived with her parents in another state. The kid was sick and she wanted Gene to drive her there. Could I please pay Gene in advance for work he was supposed to do next week so they could afford gas. He didn’t say much, let her do the talking. I thought it was suspicious but gave them $200 anyway. When I gave the money to Gene he handed me a slip of paper with a phone number on it “in case I needed it.” When he didn’t show up, I called the number and a friend of his explained that Gene had gotten involved with this conwoman who was basically using him. Then the friend came over and did the work Gene was supposed to do and didn’t charge me. It was a weird experience and I never saw any of them again. I felt lucky it worked out that way, but sad for Gene.

R69 story reminds me of Mad Men and the Paul Kinsey storyline with the cult.

Lakshmi was the character that roped poor Kinsey in

[quote]I got conned by one of those people claiming to fix dents in your car. I kept saying no but I caved when the guy said he had a hungry baby at home.

Let me guess; he covered the dent with a waxy substance and told you not to buff it off for 24 hours, by which time he was long gone with your money.

People have had their paint jobs ruined by dent scammers. I hope yours was OK.

[R71] Yes, thats exactly what he did. However it did look a little better than before, or so I told myself in order to feel better about being a sucker.

r69 how unusual to have 2 people, one an addict and one a friend have such good ethics. That has to be extremely rare. I hope the one is okay.

R73 Yes, it was an unusual experience. I think Gene gave me his friends’s number because he felt guilty about conning me since I had given him work when he needed it. I believe he & his friend were both in a recovery program at that time, apparently successful. Not sure how the girlfriend may have influenced that, though. I know Gene’s friend was worried about him, but since I never saw any of them again, I don’t know what happened.