A Maryland woman is sharing a story of how she lost millions of dollars in a sophisticated "pig butchering" crypto scam orchestrated by fraudsters from Southeast Asia.

In her interview with CBS, she shared how humiliated she felt when the truth dawned on her.

"I never thought I would actually fall into something this crazy. I was so humiliated. It was very hard... You trust somebody, and you get betrayed. It really hurts more than the money part."

Reaching out through a Korean messaging app

The victim shared that she was first approached by the scammer unsolicited through a Korean messaging app. Over the following weeks, the scammer built trust with the woman, eventually persuading her to invest in what was presented as a cryptocurrency opportunity and promising that she could make almost 80% profit.

The victim said that the investment portfolio looked like the real thing, and she was first directed to the legitimate Coinbase website before being taken to other sites.

"When she got a lot more of my trust, more money would be poured in. Unless you know what you're doing, you're not going to tell-especially if you've never done crypto before."

The fraudster would typically allow the victims to withdraw parts of the proceeds initially to gain the trust of the victims, before disappearing with all of the money once a strong web of trust has been forged.

The rise of pig butchering scams

The scam was uncovered through Operation Level Up, an FBI initiative aimed at combating cryptocurrency fraud.

Sarah Lewis, an agent from the FBI’s Baltimore field office, revealed sometimes scammers would prepare their target in case law enforcement get involved by coaching the vicitms on what to say.

"When I spoke to her initially, she told me she wasn't being scammed, and she gave me specific language I knew came directly from the scammers."

Pig butchering scams have become increasingly common and devastating. In pig butchering scams, scammers often find their victims, fatten them up by increasing the amount of money the victim deposits into this fraudulent account, and the "slaughter" happens when the scammers disappear and the victim loses all their money.

These schemes often originate from transnational criminal networks in Southeast Asia and have siphoned off billions of dollars globally. In 2024 alone, these scams were estimated to have caused over $4.4 billion in losses.

The modus operandi involves scammers creating fake personas and initiating contact through social media, dating apps, or messaging platforms. They gradually build relationships with their targets before introducing fraudulent investment opportunities.

Victims are often lured into investing large sums in fake platforms controlled by scammers, only to lose everything when the perpetrators disappear.