{“lastseen”:”2025-12-15T16:06:19″,”description”:”_This week on the Lock and Code podcast_ \u2026\\n\\nThis is the story of the world’s worst scam and how it is being used to fuel entire underground economies that have the power to rival nation-states across the globe. This is the story of \\”pig butchering.\\”\\n\\n\\”Pig butchering\\” is a violent term that is used to describe a growing type of online investment scam that has ruined the lives of countless victims all across the world. No age group is spared, nearly no country is untouched, and, if the numbers are true, with more than $6.5 billion stolen in 2024 alone, no scam might be more serious today, than this.\\n\\nDespite this severity, like many types of online fraud today, most pig-butchering scams start with a simple \u201chello.\u201d\\n\\nSent through text or as a direct message on social media platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram, or elsewhere, these initial communications are often framed as simple mistakes\u2014a kind stranger was given your number by accident, and if you reply, you’re given a kind apology and a simple lure: \\”You seem like such a kind person\u2026 where are you from?\\”\\n\\nhHere, the scam has already begun. Pig butchers, like romance scammers, build emotional connections with their victims. For months, their messages focus on everyday life, from family to children to marriage to work. \\n\\nBut, with time, once the scammer believes they\u2019ve gained the trust of their victim, they launch their attack: An investment \u201copportunity.\u201d\\n\\nPig butchers tell their victims that they\u2019ve personally struck it rich by investing in cryptocurrency, and they want to share the wealth. Here, the scammers will lead their victims through opening an entirely bogus investment account, which is made to look real through sham websites that are littered with convincing tickers, snazzy analytics, and eye-popping financial returns.\\n\\nWhen the victims \u201cinvest\u201d in these accounts, they\u2019re actually giving money directly to their scammers. But when the victims log into their online \u201caccounts,\u201d they see their money growing and growing, which convinces many of them to invest even _more_ , perhaps even until their life savings are drained.\\n\\nThis charade goes on as long as possible until the victims learn the truth and the scammers disappear. The continued theft from these victims is where \u201cpig-butchering\u201d gets its name\u2014with scammers fattening up their victims before slaughter.\\n\\nToday, on the Lock and Code podcast with host David Ruiz, we speak with Erin West, founder of Operation Shamrock and former Deputy District Attorney of Santa Clara County, about pig butchering scams, the failures of major platforms like Meta to stop them, and why this global crisis represents far more than just a few lost dollars. \\n\\n\\u003e \\”It’s really the most compelling, horrific, humanitarian global crisis that is happening in the world today.\\”\\n\\nTune in today to listen to the full conversation. \\n\\n_Show notes and credits:_ \\n \\nIntro Music: \u201cSpellbound\u201d by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) \\nLicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License \\nhttp:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/ \\nOutro Music: \u201cGood God\u201d by Wowa (unminus.com)\\n\\n* * *\\n\\n**Listen up\u2014Malwarebytes doesn\u2019t just talk cybersecurity, we provide it.**\\n\\nProtect yourself from online attacks that threaten your identity, your files, your system, and your financial well-being with our exclusive offer for Malwarebytes Premium Security for Lock and Code listeners.”,”published”:”2025-12-15T15:39:34″,”modified”:”2025-12-15T15:39:34″,”type”:”malwarebytes”,”title”:”Pig butchering is the next \u201chumanitarian global crisis\u201d (Lock and Code S06E25)”,”source”:””,”references”:””,”id”:”MALWAREBYTES:E44B1CECAC29B7A6FB6140F096C3820E”,”bulletinFamily”:”blog”,”cwe”:null,”cvelist”:[],”sourceData”:””,”sourceHref”:””,”cvss”:{“score”:0,”severity”:”NONE”,”vector”:”NONE”,”version”:”NONE”},”cvss2″:{},”cvss3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””,”cvssV3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””}},”href”:”https:\/\/www.malwarebytes.com\/blog\/podcast\/2025\/12\/pig-butchering-is-the-next-humanitarian-global-crisis-lock-and-code-s06e25″,”category_name”:”News”,”post_link”:””,”product”:””,”version”:””,”vendor”:””,”ai_description”:””,”ai_severity”:””,”ai_vendor”:””,”ai_product”:””,”ai_version”:””,”ai_score”:0}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
{“lastseen”:”2025-12-15T16:06:19″,”description”:”_This week on the Lock and Code podcast_ \u2026\\n\\nThis is the story of the world’s worst scam and how it is being used to fuel…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6,8,12,115,13,33,7,11,5],"class_list":["post-31155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-category_news","tag-cve","tag-cvss","tag-exploit","tag-malwarebytes","tag-news","tag-none","tag-security","tag-tapic","tag-vulnerability"],"yoast_head":"\n