An Anatomy of ‘Pig Butchering Scams’: Chinese Victims’ and Police Officers’ Perspectives

This article analyzes the hybrid romance–investment scam known as “pig butchering” (Sha Zhu Pan, 杀猪盘) from the perspectives of Chinese victims and police officers. Unlike traditional romance scams, pig butchering fuses romantic grooming with fraudulent investment opportunities, often orchestrated by organized crime syndicates using trafficked labor. The study draws on interviews with six victims and nine police officers in China between 2020 and 2022. Victims shared personal accounts of deception and financial loss, while officers provided insights into investigative challenges and criminal organization structures. This dual perspective enabled a fuller picture of both individual victimization and systemic criminal operations. Findings reveal three key characteristics of pig-butchering scams: Intersection of love and money-making – Scammers cultivate romantic relationships while simultaneously portraying themselves as financially successful. They encourage victims to “make money together,” using fake investment, gambling, or cashback platforms. Trust is built not just on romance but also on the promise of shared financial gain. Small initial investments escalating to large losses – Victims are persuaded to start with small, low-risk transactions, often seeing fake profits. These “tests” lower resistance and pave the way for larger investments, ultimately leading to devastating financial losses. Remote, contactless, and organized crime-based – All interactions occur online, with scammers typically operating from Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar. Police described highly industrialized syndicates with divisions of labor for recruitment, customer service, IT infrastructure, and money laundering. A central distinction between traditional romance fraud and pig-butchering scams is the basis of trust. Traditional scams exploit victims’ emotional longing for love, while pig-butchering scams exploit both romance and financial ambition, reframing deception as a partnership in wealth-building. Profiles differ as well: rather than portraying neediness, scammers present themselves as affluent mentors, furthering credibility in investment schemes. The paper underscores the scale and severity of pig-butchering scams. Victims reported significant financial and emotional harm, while police emphasized the difficulty of investigation due to the cross-border, industrialized nature of the crime. Unlike small-scale romance fraud, pig-butchering represents an evolution toward organized criminal enterprises, sustained by money-laundering networks and even human trafficking. The authors conclude that pig-butchering scams represent a more ruthless and damaging form of fraud than traditional romance scams, both in victim experience and in organizational sophistication. They call for greater awareness, targeted prevention campaigns, and international cooperation to counter this fast-evolving threat.