An internet scam dubbed “pig butchering,” run by Chinese crime syndicates in Southeast Asia may have ties with the Chinese communist regime, China watchers say, especially in light of the regime’s history.
The syndicates—operating in countries bordering southern China, including Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar—use trafficked “cyber slaves” to scam internet users.
A report titled “A Criminal Cancer Spreads in Southeast Asia,” released by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a U.S. Congress-funded think tank, on June 26, details “pig butchering (Sha Zhu Pan)” which began as illegal online gambling in China in 2018.
“Pig butchering” implies the scam’s process of “fatten[ing] targets before slaughtering them.” Once the scammer determines that the victim has invested all their financial resources, the “pig will be slaughtered,” and the scammer disappears with the victim’s money….