"When a recently divorced Bitcoin ( BTC) investor finally reached the milestone of owning one full Bitcoin, he believed his financial future was secure. Within days, however, an elaborate scheme orchestrated by a sophisticated scammer using AI stripped away his entire retirement savings and left him devastated. His story, shared by Bitcoin security adviser Terence Michael, offers a critical lesson in how emotional manipulation, combined with modern AI technologies, has weaponized traditional scams to target cryptocurrency holders."
"Before examining the specifics of this case, it is essential to understand what security experts call " pig butchering " scams. Unlike traditional cryptocurrency hacks that target wallets directly, these schemes are relationship-based frauds that rely entirely on psychological manipulation. The term, borrowed from the agricultural practice of fattening an animal before slaughter, describes how scammers gradually build trust and emotional connection with their victims before extracting maximum value."
A recently divorced Bitcoin investor lost one full Bitcoin and his retirement savings to an AI-powered romance scam that used deepfakes and sophisticated social engineering. Pig-butchering scams are relationship-based frauds that fatten targets through emotional manipulation and trust-building before extracting maximum financial value. Scammers create synthetic portraits and conduct real-time deepfake video calls to make fabricated relationships virtually indistinguishable from reality. Victims willingly transfer cryptocurrency believing they are making investments or supporting someone they love, and once funds move on-chain recovery is nearly impossible due to lack of chargebacks or consumer protections.
Read at Cointelegraph
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