FBI warning about “Pig Butchering” Scam

What does pig butchering have to do with an annual FBI warning about online scams during the holidays?  The porcine-dubbed fraud is one that the FBI wants to inform the public about as more people hit the web looking for deals and romance.  The FBI is calling attention to a growing investment scam known as “pig butchering,” a fraud that is heavily scripted and contact intensive.  The scammer makes contact with a victim, usually on dating and social media apps.  After building trust and rapport, the scammer will convince the victim to make investments in cryptocurrency to take advantage of the potential for high-yield returns. To facilitate the investment and demonstrate the returns on investment, victims are directed to websites that appear authentic but are actually controlled by the scammer.  After the victim has made several cryptocurrency investments through these fake sites, which purport significant returns, requests by victims to withdraw or cash-out their investments are denied for one reason or another.  The scammer vanishes, cutting off contact with the victim and taking the invested sums with them.