Pharaoh
Brigadier General
- Messages
- 20,307
Where to Complain about Pig Slaughter Type Romance Scams
Did the pretty guy/gal you met online talk you into placing money with an incredibly obscure broker? You are the pig. You're now on a plate and will be eaten alive.
Hopefully you've gathered your evidence. No matter what they promise, don't send another penny. Make excuses about some surprise expenses or anything else and ask about alternative methods to deposit funds or pay any of the fake fees they claim will free up your cash. As always, any information about their methods of receiving money are critical to seizing their accounts and hopefully arresting some of the people behind the scam.
Many of these are run out of Asian with a large concentration of big operations in Cambodia. Due to the success of this particular scam formula, it's spreading. These organizations can have thousands of people scamming in them, but can also be as small as a lone person.
Where to complain if you find you've been turned into a plated pig?
Gather your evidence and:
1. If crypto was involved, no matter where you are, go ahead and Click Here to file a report with the US Secret Service.
You can also Click Here to learn a little bit about how to trace crypto transfers yourself.
2. Make your info available as widely as possible through the services of eConsumer.gov. They'll share your information on request with the police and regulators of many countries. It's a good place to file information about any form of online scam or fraud no matter where you live or where the scammers are.
Click Here to see how to file information about scammers with eConsumer.
3. The USA's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (no matter where you are). Few pig slaughter scams have connections to the US, but most are more than happy to go after people living there. The information you provide could help get some of those scammers thrown into prison. This link shows how to report to IC3:
IC3 from the FBI
4. In the US or not, go ahead and file reports with these primary trading regulators in the USA. It's only a matter of time until a scam group hits some victims in the US, and the more info the regulators have, the better, These links show how.
SEC - The Securities and Exchange Commission
CFTC - The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission
NFA - The National Futures Association
5. Any regulator or business registry the binary company claims to belong to.
The police and financial regulators in any country the binary broker claims to do business in.
The police and financial regulators of an country you have evidence the company is connected to. Your country's police financial regulators (if you live in one country and are a citizen of another, complain to both).
Check the table of contents for links and instructions for some of the more common places to complain. If it's not on the list, don't worry. Click Here for links to global financial regulators and Click Here for links to global police agencies.
Common places pig slaughter operations claim to be from are:
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Thailand
Japan
Singapore
Many of the operations are really in:
Cambodia
Myanmar
Laos
Thailand
6. If either you or the scammer (or both) are in the USA, it's always a good idea to file a report with your state's financial regulators, consumer protection agencies, and state police. You can Click Here to look these up.
7. Pig slaughter scammers often try to trick victims into sending money for "taxes" before permitting a withdrawal (except that if you pay the tax, there will always be another fee to pay). If the broker involved ask you to send them money for taxes or to pay taxes to some wallet or bank account somewhere? If so, it's just another scam. Click Here for more information and to get a list of national tax authorities from around the world.
8. How did you deposit/pay?
If crypto was involved, see #1 above.
If by bankwire, ask your bank about how to file wire fraud charges. You can also file a complaint with the receiving bank and the financial authorities in the country the receiving bank is located in.
If by credit card, call the issuing bank and ask to speak to someone in the fraud or abuse department about a chargeback. If you have money with a broker, one of the promised services is to allow you to withdraw funds that legitimately belong to you. Refusal to process the withdrawal is a failure to provide promised services. (Link Coming Soon- a page for DIY chargebacks)
Even if you lose a chargeback claim, the company is likely to have to pay some fee to it's bank or card processing service. The more complaints, the more risky the company will be to the bank or service. Fees the company has to pay to accept credit cards will go up and each new complaint will bring them closer to getting kicked out.
PayPal - Click Here to file a fraud complaint with PayPal. Make sure to specify that the broker is failing to permit a withdrawal per the terms or service or that the company didn't deliver the promised product or didn't honor a refund.
For other money transfer companies, check the transfer company's website for how to file fraud complaints.
Did the pretty guy/gal you met online talk you into placing money with an incredibly obscure broker? You are the pig. You're now on a plate and will be eaten alive.
Hopefully you've gathered your evidence. No matter what they promise, don't send another penny. Make excuses about some surprise expenses or anything else and ask about alternative methods to deposit funds or pay any of the fake fees they claim will free up your cash. As always, any information about their methods of receiving money are critical to seizing their accounts and hopefully arresting some of the people behind the scam.
Many of these are run out of Asian with a large concentration of big operations in Cambodia. Due to the success of this particular scam formula, it's spreading. These organizations can have thousands of people scamming in them, but can also be as small as a lone person.
Where to complain if you find you've been turned into a plated pig?
Gather your evidence and:
1. If crypto was involved, no matter where you are, go ahead and Click Here to file a report with the US Secret Service.
You can also Click Here to learn a little bit about how to trace crypto transfers yourself.
2. Make your info available as widely as possible through the services of eConsumer.gov. They'll share your information on request with the police and regulators of many countries. It's a good place to file information about any form of online scam or fraud no matter where you live or where the scammers are.
Click Here to see how to file information about scammers with eConsumer.
3. The USA's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (no matter where you are). Few pig slaughter scams have connections to the US, but most are more than happy to go after people living there. The information you provide could help get some of those scammers thrown into prison. This link shows how to report to IC3:
IC3 from the FBI
4. In the US or not, go ahead and file reports with these primary trading regulators in the USA. It's only a matter of time until a scam group hits some victims in the US, and the more info the regulators have, the better, These links show how.
SEC - The Securities and Exchange Commission
CFTC - The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission
NFA - The National Futures Association
5. Any regulator or business registry the binary company claims to belong to.
The police and financial regulators in any country the binary broker claims to do business in.
The police and financial regulators of an country you have evidence the company is connected to. Your country's police financial regulators (if you live in one country and are a citizen of another, complain to both).
Check the table of contents for links and instructions for some of the more common places to complain. If it's not on the list, don't worry. Click Here for links to global financial regulators and Click Here for links to global police agencies.
Common places pig slaughter operations claim to be from are:
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Thailand
Japan
Singapore
Many of the operations are really in:
Cambodia
Myanmar
Laos
Thailand
6. If either you or the scammer (or both) are in the USA, it's always a good idea to file a report with your state's financial regulators, consumer protection agencies, and state police. You can Click Here to look these up.
7. Pig slaughter scammers often try to trick victims into sending money for "taxes" before permitting a withdrawal (except that if you pay the tax, there will always be another fee to pay). If the broker involved ask you to send them money for taxes or to pay taxes to some wallet or bank account somewhere? If so, it's just another scam. Click Here for more information and to get a list of national tax authorities from around the world.
8. How did you deposit/pay?
If crypto was involved, see #1 above.
If by bankwire, ask your bank about how to file wire fraud charges. You can also file a complaint with the receiving bank and the financial authorities in the country the receiving bank is located in.
If by credit card, call the issuing bank and ask to speak to someone in the fraud or abuse department about a chargeback. If you have money with a broker, one of the promised services is to allow you to withdraw funds that legitimately belong to you. Refusal to process the withdrawal is a failure to provide promised services. (Link Coming Soon- a page for DIY chargebacks)
Even if you lose a chargeback claim, the company is likely to have to pay some fee to it's bank or card processing service. The more complaints, the more risky the company will be to the bank or service. Fees the company has to pay to accept credit cards will go up and each new complaint will bring them closer to getting kicked out.
PayPal - Click Here to file a fraud complaint with PayPal. Make sure to specify that the broker is failing to permit a withdrawal per the terms or service or that the company didn't deliver the promised product or didn't honor a refund.
For other money transfer companies, check the transfer company's website for how to file fraud complaints.
