Divorced Mom Loses Entire Life Savings in ‘Pig Butchering’ Scam

• A nationwide spread of the “Pig Butchering” scam leaves victims in immense distress and financial ruin.
• The latest victim, Rebecca Holloway, loses over $100,000 in fictitious cryptocurrency schemes orchestrated by a scammer she met on Tinder.
• Two other victims, Shreya Datta and Kate, also fell prey, losing over half a million dollars.

Recent reports show a disturbing trend known as “pig butchering” is sweeping across the nation, leaving victims devastated and financially ruined. The latest case involves Rebecca Holloway, a recently divorced mother-of-three, who fell prey to a cunning scammer she met on the dating app Tinder, who manipulated her into investing her hard-earned money in fictitious cryptocurrency schemes.

Rebecca Holloway, 42, had her entire life savings of more than $100,000 decimated after investing in bogus cryptocurrency schemes. The scammer, posing as a French entrepreneur named ‘Fred,’ exploited her vulnerability as a single woman approaching middle age. With meticulous planning, he wove an intricate web of romance and deceit, gaining Holloway’s trust before mercilessly draining her finances.

Tragically, Holloway is not alone in her suffering. Two other victims, tech executive Shreya Datta and single mom Kate, also fell victim to the same crypto fraud, suffering a loss of $450,000 and $80,000, respectively. Together, these three women have lost over half a million dollars to these heartless scammers. The surge in cases has caught the attention of Secret Service agents, who admit to witnessing an alarming increase in pig butchering scams throughout the United States.

The pig butchering scam, aptly named for the way victims are systematically fattened up with false affection before being ruthlessly butchered financially, is a long-winded operation. Scammers first invest significant time and effort in building trust and emotional connections with their victims. Once the victims are hooked, they are coerced into investing substantial sums of money in fraudulent ventures. These heartless criminals now leave their victims not only emotionally shattered but also stripped of their hard-earned money.

The alarming rise of cryptocurrency scams, including pig butchering, has prompted the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center to label them as the fastest-growing form of investment fraud. In 2022 alone, victims reported losses totaling $2.57 billion, a staggering 183% increase from the previous year.