FBI – NBC 6 South Florida

A new crypto scam that the FBI says is one of the fastest growing in the country is taking millions of dollars from people in South Florida.

The scam starts as a text or online message and leaves people in debt, according to the FBI.

Maybe you’ve received one of the messages that says start by saying something like “Hello is this John?” You answer “sorry, wrong number” and that’s when the crook continues the call to try to steal your money.

“Their goal is to take everything,” explained Special Agent Zacharia Baldwin with the FBI Miami Financial Crime Squad.

He says the scam is called “pig slaughtering”.

“It’s the loose translation from the Chinese word that the scammers have called it,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin has focused on financial crime throughout his career with the FBI, and he says this scam is growing faster than any he’s seen in the past 15 years.

It originated in Southeast Asia and is a combination of investment fraud and romance fraud, Baldwin said.

“In terms of the scale of threat, this is definitely one of the top priorities just because of the extensive loss that we’ve seen and how it affects the community, especially here in South Florida,” he said.

There’s a lot of money in South Florida, and that’s what the crooks are looking for when they send a text message.

“Generally they’ll just use random names. It doesn’t matter what their name is, they’re just trying to get engagement,” Baldwin explained.

According to Baldwin, when you answer the “wrong number,” the criminal will try to continue the conversation, sometimes using animals to tug at your heartstrings.

“‘Oh, my puppy or my animal is sick. I’m trying to get the vet. You seem kind,'” Baldwin said is one example.

Other times, the villains will reach out on social media or dating sites. The FBI says that once a relationship is established, the crook will take up crypto, first showing his own fake successes through images of cash, luxury cars and vacations.

But it’s all fake and used to lure the victim into investing. Victims end up losing anywhere from a few thousand to millions of dollars. The average loss is about $50,000, according to the FBI. Nationally, billions of dollars have been lost to this scam in just one year.

“They’ll start talking about life together, especially the romance. ‘Look, we made so much money, I can’t wait to live with you. Our life is going to be set,'” Baldwin said.

Investigators sometimes say the scammer initially allows the person to withdraw money to make it look like the income is real and build further trust, essentially treating the victim like a pig, fattening them up before being slaughtered.

“The things they’re talking about, it’s heartbreaking. About the future for them, doing things for their family. They’re basically eating away at these people’s dreams,” Baldwin said.

Unfortunately, most of the fraudsters are abroad in countries where it is difficult to prosecute. So if you think you are a victim, stop sending money and if you can, try to get it back. The FBI wants you to report the crime here.

Here are some red flags the FBI says to watch out for:

• Any communication you receive that you did not initiate is a red flag
• Anyone who guarantees that an investment will succeed should immediately raise a red flag
• Experts say you should only invest money you can afford to lose