Nithin Kamath Explains How 'Pig Butchering' Scams Work, How To Protect Yourself

Even as the cases of financial scams are on the rise, Nithin Kamath on Monday said it is scary how many people fall for various financial scams. The founder and CEO of online brokerage firm Zerodha explained pig butchering scams and also suggested ways to protect yourself from such scams.

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“The scale of pig butchering scams in India runs into tens of thousands of crores. It is scary how many people fall for fake job offer scams, scammy high-return investment schemes and crypto investments, etc,” Nithin Kamath said in a post on X.

What Is Pig Butchering?

Pig butchering is a type of cyber scam where scammers act like a friend or romantic partner to trick someone into giving them money for fake investments, jobs, etc, and then run away with the money.

“As the name implies, a pig butchering scam involves fattening the victim before butchering,” Kamath said in the post.

How Pig Butchering Scams Work?

Explaining the modus operandi, Kamath said scammers gain the trust of users by using fake profiles. They use the pretense of love and friendship to gain the trust of users and then induce them to send money for jobs and high-return investments and steal the money. “These scams are global, and their scope is staggering.”

“What makes these scams even more cruel is that the person scamming could also be a victim of another type of scam. Many fall into the trap of international job offers from scammy companies. Once abroad, they are held captive and forced to scam Indians by building trust using social media platforms, typically using fake profiles of the opposite sex,” he said.

How To Protect Yourself

Kamath said it is essential to talk about this frequently with as many people as possible, given the scale of the problem. Everyone around us is a potential victim, regardless of whether they are educated or not. Quick money and a job abroad is a honeypot that gets many Indians to act instinctively.

He suggested some tips to protect from pig butchering scams:

1) Never reply to unknown messages on WhatsApp, social media platforms, and dating apps.

2) If someone asks you to download some new apps or open links, that’s a red flag.

3) These scams rely on exploiting your emotions like hopes, fears, dreams, and greed. Never react in a hurry.

4) Don’t panic. Most people fall for these scams because they react in a hurry.

5) When in doubt, go to the nearest police station or talk to a lawyer.

6) If someone promises something like a job or high returns or asks you for money, it’s a red flag.

7) Never ever share personally identifiable information like your Aadhaar, passport or your financial information like bank details, investment details, etc.

8) If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.