The Pig Butchering Romance Scam HomeThree Home (BBC Three Tuesday 7 March 2023)

The Pig Butchering Romance Scam
HomeThree Home airs a new episode tonight Tuesday 7 March 2023 on BBC Three.

A highly complex fraud known as “the pig slaughtering romance scam” causes millions of dollars in losses each year for victims all around the world.

The scammers refer to their targets as “pigs” because they may “fatten” them before “butchering” them. Scammers prey on victims by posing as desirable and successful people on dating and social media services. Con artists use charm and deception to gain their victims’ trust so that they can steal their money to fund fake bitcoin exchanges.

But, there is a much more sinister truth hiding behind the phony internet personas. Scam artists are frequently forced to work in south east Asian colonies behind high walls. The BBC World Service’s investigations unit, BBC Eye, has released a new report that takes you inside one of these scam compounds in Cambodia, where people from all over the world are locked up, abused, hungry, and forced to scam by criminal gangs.

Here, we share the account of Didi, a victim of human trafficking who filmed his ordeal in the infamous Huang Le facility. From there, he sent his footage to the BBC and to The Global Anti-Scam Organisation (Gaso), a nonprofit staffed entirely by volunteers who work to save and assist victims of human trafficking. We follow him on his remarkable trip as he escapes and makes his way back to China.

Two people, one American and one Chinese, who fell prey to a fraud and saw their lives turned upside down after losing millions of dollars are introduced to us. Also, there is full access to a former scam boss whose company stole millions of dollars from victims over the years using a guidebook he authored.

Airdate: Tuesday 7 March 2023 at 10.00pm on BBC Three.

Featured Image Credit: BBC Three