Since 2020, ‘pork eating’ crypto romance scams have increased 85 times.

Crypto activity linked to “pig farming” romance scams is 85 times higher than it was in 2020, and revenue will double from 2022 to 2023, according to a new report from Chainalysis.

As the total amount sent to scams declined, romance scams grew during this period, the report said. Ponzi schemes have fallen in particular in terms of volume, which the authors of the report linked to the 2023 bear market and high-profile events that will confuse the public.

Pork scams often involve the use of social engineering to build a romantic relationship online before the victim is tricked into handing over their money to the scammer. After several weeks of communication, the scammer reveals that they are making a lot of money in crypto and suggests that the victim try it. The scammer uses the victim's lack of crypto knowledge to confuse and trick them into handing over their money.

“It usually involves tricking the victim into doing something a little technical, like signing a transaction,” Chinalysis senior investigator Adam Hart told Decrypt. “After weeks they convince the victim to gradually put more money into the application, if the victim doesn't know the whole time, the application is closed.”

The latest data from the Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Crime Report also found that romance scams have a severe financial impact on victims. The average payout for romance scams was $4,593 in 2023, followed by NFT scams at $3,095.

“In general, it's very easy for victims to put a disproportionate amount of their money into something when it's not some unknown third-party investment service,” Hart explained. “But also if [a scam] Targeted at individuals, the answer should be a little higher for the scammer.

Victims of romance scams are more willing to invest large sums of money in the scam because they believe their love is currently making money, the report's authors said.

Hart explained that the “breach of their trust” makes the non-financial impact especially difficult for victims to bear. “This is someone who they thought cared about them, who often showed up at a vulnerable time in their lives and ended up financially ruined,” he said. “It must be very hard to handle psychologically.”

Because of this, Hart said, many romance scams may go unreported because of the shame that comes with them. That said, once a romance scam is reported, it can leave a mark on the chain unlike other scams.

“Pork fraudsters don't immediately put the money into one big pot, they have addresses that may be unique to the victim, not yet reported or blocked on any wallet interface or exchange,” he explained. Other scams, such as Ponzi schemes, often collect victims' money in a bag before the carpet is pulled from their operation.

Who is behind the pork scam?

Love scammers are often highly organized groups that spend money and hide their activities. However, when you're moving around with that much cash, it's hard not to leave a trail.

Because of this, some love cheats have been caught. In the year By December 2023, an Interpol-led operation had arrested 3,500 suspected cyber fraudsters and seized $300 million linked to pig farming and other scams.

According to reports, the people who scam victims of pork are themselves victims of human trafficking.

“Their power consists of tricking people into coming to Thailand for tech roles — and then basically abducting them, taking them across the border into regions where they have poor relations with local authorities, places like Myanmar,” Hart said. “Often the scammer on the other end of the phone is the victim themselves,” he said.

The operation involved Chinese police entering Myanmar to arrest the fraud centers of two “powerful warlords”—plunging China into a civil war in the region.