Investment Fraud

Romance scams typically begin online through dating platforms, social media, or messaging apps, with scammers' goal being financial gain. Red flags include declarations of love very quickly, elaborate backstories (such as working in oil/gas or military deployment) to explain communication gaps, and reluctance to video chat; scammers may spend months or even years building trust before requesting money. People should recognize these warning signs early to avoid becoming victims of these prevalent scams.

A Toronto woman lost $340,000 to a cryptocurrency investment scam after seeing a YouTube advertisement promising fast returns. The scammer built trust by showing fake account growth and sending her $5,000 to purchase diamond earrings, convincing her to invest progressively larger amounts ($250, then $100,000, then $240,000), but when she attempted to withdraw funds, she discovered the account was fraudulent and lost her entire investment.

**Pig Butchering Scams Overview** "Pig Butchering" is a romance/investment scam that typically begins with unsolicited text messages appearing to be sent to the wrong person, establishing false familiarity and trust. Scammers then gradually build relationships with victims and persuade them to invest money in fraudulent cryptocurrency or trading schemes, often resulting in significant financial losses. The scam gets its name from the process of cultivating ("fattening") victims before extracting ("butchering") their money.

**Pig Butchering Scam Overview** Pig butchering scams are a type of cryptocurrency investment fraud that targets victims globally through emotional manipulation and deceptive investment schemes. Scammers pose as romantic interests or long-lost friends on dating platforms to build trust, then convince victims to invest in fake cryptocurrency trading platforms controlled by the fraudsters, resulting in significant financial losses such as the $450,000 stolen from victim Shrea through an imposter posing as a French wine trader.

Americans lost $10 billion to scams in 2023, a $1 billion increase from 2022, with investment scams being the costliest at $4 billion (averaging $7,000 per victim), followed by imposter scams at $2.7 billion and social media scams at $1.4 billion. The FTC is responding with increased enforcement actions, including 180 actions against telemarketers and new rules being drafted against impersonation fraud with tougher penalties. Consumers can protect themselves by guarding personal information, avoiding unsolicited links, and using unique passwords across accounts.

This video essay discusses political corruption allegations in India, focusing on how the BJP appears to avoid corruption charges while opposition parties face various scams and legal actions. The video then explains the 2G spectrum scam of 2008, where the Indian government allocated mobile spectrum to companies at artificially low prices through administrative allocation rather than auction, resulting in an estimated loss of 1.76 lakh crore to the national treasury—a controversy that contributed to the fall of the UPA government and led the Supreme Court to cancel 112 spectrum licenses in 2012. **Note:** This is a political commentary/educational piece rather than a scam affecting individual elders, so it falls outside the typical scope of

The FBI in Raleigh warned of a sharp rise in cryptocurrency investment scams across North Carolina, with losses increasing more than 50% year-over-year and totaling nearly $4 billion nationally. Scammers target victims through social media and job networking sites, building trust through shared interests before convincing them to invest and displaying fake profits to encourage continued investment, after which they disappear with the funds. North Carolina residents have lost tens of millions to these schemes, with individual victims losing amounts ranging from $40,000 to over $53,000.

Officials in New York seized nearly two dozen web domains from IP addresses in China used to conduct "pig butchering" cryptocurrency scams, which operate across multiple states including California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Scammers use dating apps and group chats to build trust with victims before convincing them to invest in cryptocurrency schemes that appear to generate returns, then steal their money; reported losses include $16,000 and $118,000 from individual victims in Brooklyn.

A 57-year-old widowed healthcare executive from Illinois lost $1.5 million in a romance scam after meeting a man posing as a Swedish businessman on Match.com; the scammer used stolen photos of a Chilean doctor and manipulated her emotionally over an extended period. The case, investigated by CBS News, illustrates a growing threat affecting tens of thousands of Americans, with romance scammers defrauding over 64,000 people of more than $1 billion annually. The victim's daughter is seeking answers and working with law enforcement to understand how her mother fell victim to the sophisticated scam.

A 57-year-old retired healthcare executive from Illinois was defrauded of her life savings through a romance scam after meeting a man posing as a Swedish businessman on Match.com; the scammer used stolen photos of a Chilean doctor and manipulated her emotionally over an extended period. The case highlights a growing epidemic of romance scams in the United States, with 64,000 Americans losing over $1 billion to such scams in the previous year—more than double the $500 million lost four years prior. The victim's daughter is seeking answers from law enforcement about the circumstances surrounding her mother's death in connection to the fraud.