Interpol warns against describing online scams as “pig slaughter”

Workers set up legitimate-looking social media accounts that they can use to target potential victims, and follow scripts to interact with the targets. Fraud managers also oversee money laundering efforts once victims make payments. With billions being made from the scam, those running these scams were quick to reinvest some of the ill-gotten gains into their money. Integrating artificial intelligence and making fraud operations more efficient.

Mina Chiang, founder of the anti-trafficking firm Humanity Research Consultancy, says she’s not a fan of the name “pig slaughter” not only because of its dehumanizing effect but also because it “limits people’s imagination about the nature of the scam.” Factories.”

“These hundreds of pools with hundreds of thousands of workers operate not only romance investment scams, but also ‘task scams,’ ‘sextortion,’ ‘sports gambling scams,’ and ‘power scams. “Counterfeit,” and “many more,” Chiang says, noting that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has described this behavior as “organized fraud.”

Chiang adds: “Focusing on just one type of scam would risk missing the bigger picture that scams are organized and manufactured by transnational criminal groups. Fraud methods are constantly changing as long as criminals are able to extract money from them.” “. Victims.”

Interpol’s Nick Court says the organization recognizes that the umbrella of “pig slaughter” includes multiple types of crimes. He points out that there may be several different names for each subcategory of activity, but most fall within the international legal definition of fraud. He also adds that while not everyone agrees that phrases like “romantic hunting” are an ideal substitute for “pig slaughter,” it is nonetheless necessary to move away from the original name.

Over the past few decades, the court says, law enforcement agencies, researchers and those who work with different types of victims have launched similar initiatives to develop the language used to describe other crimes, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, and online child molestation. to exploit. In all of these cases, he says, the goal is to reduce stigma and try to create a safer space for people to come forward and report crimes.

“We know that across a range of crime types, the use of language and the use of words matters a lot,” says Court.