The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have arrested four Chinese nationals believed to be members of a cybercrime ring that specialized in so-called “pig butchering” scam. It is estimated that the gang have stolen over $100 million from their victims worldwide.
“Pig butchering” is a type of scam where fraudster attempt to trick potential victims into making investments on fake investment portals.
The AFP opened an investigation after they received the information from the United States Secret Service (USSS) that the four man were linked to a US-based scam that the US law enforcement authorities have investigated since August 2022.
Two of the suspects were arrested on October 20, 2022, the other two - on November 24, 2022. The latter two men, aged 24 and 27, allegedly were acting as 'controllers' of the gang in Australia.
The police said that the group has manipulated legitimate electronic trading platforms in combination with the “pig butchering” scheme.
“The victims are then directed to both fraudulent and legitimate investment applications that deal in foreign exchange and cryptocurrency, which have been maliciously manipulated to show a false positive return on investments,” the AFP explained in a press release.
The cybercriminals used employment sites, messaging platforms, and dating sites to lure victims and gain their trust before they were led to fake investment sites.
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