Australian Woman Defrauded of $46,000 in Crypto Pig Butchering Scam

An Australian woman lost $46,000 after falling for a sophisticated pig butchering scam. The scam commenced when the victim, seeking a genuine romantic connection on the dating platform Tinder, encountered a profile belonging to a scammer known as “Lucio”.

In their early conversations, "Lucio" shared tragic stories about his life, a common tactic in the "fattening up" phase of a pig butchering scam. Within a week, he asked to move their chat to WhatsApp, which allowed the scam to proceed without the dating app detecting unusual activity such as asking for money.

After the topic of investment was introduced, "Lucio" convinced the woman to start trading cryptocurrency. He directed her to set up an account with CoinJar, a legitimate cryptocurrency platform, and later to open an account with MEXC Global. However, the website he provided was a counterfeit of the real MEXC Global site.

To further convince her of the scam's legitimacy, "Lucio" provided detailed instructions for trading, even helping her withdraw "trading profits" to her CoinJar account and then to her ANZ accounts. This was part of the "killing the pig" phase, designed to build trust and prompt more deposits.

When "Lucio" asked her to transfer an additional $14,000 to CoinJar, ANZ flagged the transaction as suspicious, refunded the money, and locked her customer registration number (CRN). Despite this, "Lucio" manipulated her into telling ANZ she had initiated the transactions herself and had known him for years. Consequently, ANZ processed the transfer, and she continued to make additional deposits, totaling $31,100.

Eventually, her MEXC Global account was blocked, and the fake customer service demanded more money for verification. "Lucio" convinced her to take out a $15,000 personal loan. When she could still not access her account, she contacted the real MEXC customer service, only to be told she did not exist in their system and had likely been scammed.

The victim confronted “Lucio”, but he denied the accusations and deactivated his WhatsApp number, leaving the victim devastated and without recourse.

Always verify the legitimacy and authenticity of investment platforms, be wary of individuals who quickly transition from romance to financial requests, and avoid sharing personal or financial information with unknown parties.