What is ‘pig butchering’? This new romance scam is increasingly targeting Canadians
A Canadian explainer describes pig-butchering as romantic deception and asserts more sophisticated tactics. The brief text supplies no measured trend.
CommentaryData from The GDELT Project · Reviewed and interpreted by RSRC
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Find reporting by topic, place or language. Open a record to see why it was included and what the available evidence supports.
Matching coverage over time
The chart uses every search filter above and all matching records, across every results page. The percentage denominator is all included URLs in the same dates, before theme, language, country or text filters.
Distinct included URLs matching these filters in each observation month. Select a point to explore its records. On small screens, scroll the chart horizontally.
A URL counts once per month and can appear in several months or themes. Themes describe the current record assessment; months show URL observations, not when events or each claim first appeared. Warnings, allegations and reported experiences are all included when coded. Partial months, collection gaps and changes in sources affect both measures. A higher share does not establish a higher risk to victims.
Read the graph as a table
| Observation month | Matching URLs | All included URLs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 263 | 591 | 44.5% |
| Feb 2025 | 405 | 1,629 | 24.9% |
| Mar 2025 | 291 | 561 | 51.9% |
| Apr 2025 | 121 | 390 | 31.0% |
| May 2025 | 113 | 398 | 28.4% |
| Jun 2025 | 82 | 209 | 39.2% |
| Jul 2025 | 132 | 522 | 25.3% |
| Aug 2025 | 129 | 447 | 28.9% |
| Sep 2025 | 161 | 613 | 26.3% |
| Oct 2025 | 128 | 483 | 26.5% |
| Nov 2025 | 118 | 392 | 30.1% |
| Dec 2025 | 91 | 333 | 27.3% |
| Jan 2026 | 523 | 530 | 98.7% |
| Feb 2026 | 1,101 | 1,106 | 99.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 358 | 360 | 99.4% |
| Apr 2026 | 485 | 491 | 98.8% |
| May 2026 | 779 | 785 | 99.2% |
| Jun 2026 | 594 | 842 | 70.5% |
| Jul 2026 | 658 | 1,143 | 57.6% |
| Aug 2026 | 272 | 640 | 42.5% |
| Sep 2026 | 147 | 638 | 23.0% |
| Oct 2026 | 8 | 30 | 26.7% |
6,854 matching media records
Each record represents a source web page, not a verified incident. Different URLs can describe the same event. About these records.
San Valentino sotto attacco | come non cadere nelle Romance scam online è più facile del previsto
A warning, advice item or prevention notice discusses romantic deception. Brief claims of growth, vulnerability or comparative ranking are attributed and do not establish a measured population rate or effectiveness.
Prevention & supportLove-Scammer-Fabriken wenden neue Masche an
German coverage describes organized romantic-fraud factories and estimated billions in losses. The brief text supplies no reproducible global estimate or current-year incident count.
CommentaryHow to avoid romance scammers this Valentine's Day
A prevention item, warning or educational event discusses romantic deception. Seasonal or growth claims in brief metadata are attributed and do not establish incidence or effectiveness.
Prevention & supportWhat is ‘pig butchering’? This new romance scam is increasingly targeting Canadians
A Canadian explainer describes pig-butchering as romantic deception and asserts more sophisticated tactics. The brief text supplies no measured trend.
CommentaryWhat is ‘pig butchering’? This new romance scam is increasingly targeting Canadians
A Canadian explainer describes pig-butchering as romantic deception and asserts more sophisticated tactics. The brief text supplies no measured trend.
CommentaryFBI urges caution as romance scams cost Midlands millions
A warning, advice item or prevention notice discusses romantic deception. Brief claims of growth, vulnerability or comparative ranking are attributed and do not establish a measured population rate or effectiveness.
Prevention & supportWhat is ‘pig butchering’? This new romance scam is increasingly targeting Canadians
A Canadian explainer describes pig-butchering as romantic deception and asserts more sophisticated tactics. The brief text supplies no measured trend.
CommentaryValentine’s Day in Ontario: Romantic spots, trends and dating scam alerts
An Ontario lifestyle roundup mentions a pig-butchering romance-scam explainer. Its beauty and dating topics are not separate incidents.
Related mentionIs it love? Or is it an AI romance scam?
Coverage discusses AI-assisted romantic deception and prevention. Its claims of scale or persuasion are not independently measured in the retained text.
Prevention & supportEstafas románticas impulsadas por IA: el punto ciego de la banca
Industry commentary describes AI-assisted romantic deception. Claims about scale, banking blind spots or a dark age are attributed interpretations; investment-fraud totals cannot be relabeled as romance-only losses.
CommentaryAlertan sobre estafas cibernéticas románticas
A warning, educational notice or advice item discusses romantic financial deception. The excerpt does not independently establish seasonal incidence or prevention effectiveness.
Prevention & supportSAN VALENTINO: con IA crescono “truffe sentimentali” online
Coverage discusses AI-assisted romantic deception and prevention. Claims of increasing sophistication or scale are not evaluated causal effects in the saved text.
Prevention & supportValentine’s Day in Ontario: Romantic spots, trends and dating scam alerts
An Ontario lifestyle roundup mentions a pig-butchering romance-scam explainer. Its beauty and dating topics are not separate incidents.
Related mentionWhat is ‘pig butchering’? This new romance scam is increasingly targeting Canadians
A Canadian explainer describes pig-butchering as romantic deception and asserts more sophisticated tactics. The brief text supplies no measured trend.
CommentaryValentine's Day warning on romance scammers fleecing millions from victims
Western Australian authorities warn after dozens reportedly lost almost $4m in the prior year. These are recorded losses rather than all victimization.
Prevention & supportOrganisierter Liebesbetrug verursacht Milliardenschäden
German coverage describes organized romantic-fraud operations and estimated billions in losses. The excerpt supplies no reproducible global estimate or period.
Commentary新北9旬翁迷上「萱萱」 提19萬現金、買點數兩度被警攔阻 | ETtoday社會新聞 | ETtoday新聞雲
New Taipei police report stopping a man in his nineties from withdrawing NT$190,000 for gold and, five days later, buying NT$20,000 in points for an online contact. Prevented payments are not completed losses.
Reported caseValentine’s Day in Ontario: Romantic spots, trends and dating scam alerts
An Ontario lifestyle roundup mentions a pig-butchering romance-scam explainer. Its beauty and dating topics are not separate incidents.
Related mentionMes del Amor en Antofagasta: ¿Cómo evitar estafas en apps y redes sociales?
A warning, educational notice or advice item discusses romantic financial deception. The excerpt does not independently establish seasonal incidence or prevention effectiveness.
Prevention & support《月老》神還原！ 宇光飾演網戀渣男 深情紅線遭女警剪斷：那是詐騙線 | 徐炳文 | 地方新聞
Kaohsiung police use a staged romantic-film parody in a prevention video. The actor is portraying a scammer, not reported as an actual offender.
Prevention & supportDangerous liaisons
An article about Bengaluru sextortion and manipulated images also warns of romance scams. It does not establish that the image-harassment case began through romantic financial deception.
Related mentionMississauga man, woman charged in romance scam in Canada and the U.S.
Toronto-area reporting describes a Mississauga man and woman arrested or charged in a dating-app romance-fraud investigation. Charges remain allegations, and offender residence does not locate every victim.
Reported caseLiebesschwindel-Fabriken richten Milliardenschäden an
German coverage describes organized romantic-fraud factories and estimated billions in losses. The brief text supplies no reproducible global estimate or current-year incident count.
CommentaryLiebesschwindel-Fabriken richten Milliardenschäden an
German coverage describes organized romantic-fraud factories and estimated billions in losses. The brief text supplies no reproducible global estimate or current-year incident count.
Commentary