Pig Butchering?

 No, this is not about meat or hog farming

    I know a little about both though.  Hog farming has a distinct odor about it.

    Once upon I time I was a pea picker for DelMonte.  Yes, me.  Ol pea pickin' Terry. 

    I would rouse myself out of bed, say goodbye to the wife, and ride off before sunrise.  We would all pile in a van and be driven out to the work area for the day.

    When we would pass a pig farm,  the driver would yell out, "You know what that's the smell of, boys?  MONEY!"  And then he would laugh.

    I also know pigs produce pork chops, bacon, sausage, and roasts.  Like I said, I know about pig farming.

    I also know the best tasting meat does not come from a lab, but from a black Angus steer.  I can taste the beef melting in my mouth as I write.

    But I digress.

    Pig butchering is the term being used for a swindle.  Con.  Fraud.  Scam.

    The FBI said citizens lost about $3,5 billion in this type of con last year.

    One buy, who was brave enough to have his name and photo used in the article, explained what happened.

    He met a woman on line.  The talked and had lots in common.  Over time, he decided he was in love with her and she with him.

    But.....and here is the big butt.....her grandmother was holding all her assets and would not release them.  Granny needed money in advance to free up the millions the love interest had.

    So she asks for money.  He sends her $10,000.

    Next, the love of his life asks that he invest money in a crypto currency web site to convince granny he was not interested in her for her money.

    So he cashes in his retirement account and  invests it in crypto currency.  $500,000.

    Not enough

    When he goes to his bank for a loan, the bank people say, "Wait a minute......this does not sound right."

    Then the FBI contacted him and said he had been scammed. The crypto currency website was a front, the business did not exist, and he was out his life savings.

    The guy is 62 years old.  He researched the crypto site and it looked legit, so he trusted it.  

    Pig butchering.

    I often get friend requests from attractive women that I don't know.  I don't accept them.  

    I often see comments on friends posts that say, "You sound like a very intelligent/nice/interesting person.  I would like to be your friend."

    Hopefully we are all smart enough, aware enough, cautious enough to ignore them.  

    My guess is it is all another form of pig butchering.

    The internet and Facebook can be great fun.  But there are dangers lurking in the water.  Swim safely.

Peace and Love