One of the most recent types of scam that shook the crypto community is the pig butchering scam. The use of cryptocurrency has become widespread, with everyone seeing it as a means to earn quick and extra cash. With the increasing popularity, hackers and fraudsters have discovered different scam plots.
If you have been paying attention, you must have heard about the pig butchering scam and want to know what it means and how to avoid it. It is only when you avoid scams that you can truly trade cryptocurrency successfully in Nigeria.
What is a pig butchering scam?
The pig butchering scam is quite disturbing as it exploits the emotions of unsuspecting crypto users. It is also called the romance scam because the scammer combines long-term finance fraud, romance, and crypto fraud. The pig butchering scam originated from a southeastern Asian phrase, “Shāz Hū Pán,” which literally means pig butchering. The scammers involved in this practice search for dating platforms and social media sites for their vulnerable victims and exploit them.
Their modus operandi is creating fake accounts and engaging victims on dating platforms like Tinder or social media platforms like Instagram. In no time, they make victims fall in love with the idea of them or just become cordial friends. They text frequently and engage the victim like their lives depend on it to gain the victim’s trust and avoid suspicions by pretending to care.
After gaining the victim’s trust, the scammer persuades them to invest in cryptocurrency investments through trading on their selected exchange platform. The scammer will make all kinds of glamorous and unrealistic promises so that the victim will buy into the idea. They will even provide fake proof of other crypto traders that have profited so that the victim will feel like they are missing out on something huge if they don’t invest.
The chosen platform is also run by scammers. To further gain the victim’s trust, the scammer will ensure that the first trade is successful with a high-profit margin. This will encourage the victims to invest more of their crypto assets, which is when the scammer carts away with their investments.
How to recognize a pig butchering scam
There are several ways to avoid pig butchering scams as awareness is being made to curtail these scammers daily.
Watch out for unrealistic promises on returns
If you’ve been in the investment space for a while, you would know there’s never a guaranteed promise of returns. Investment is mostly about patience and hoping that everything will go as planned. Of course, there are low-risk investments, but crypto investment is not low-risk. So, if anybody is asking you to invest in cryptocurrency with the assurance of getting 100% returns, know that something is fishy. Make further inquiries about it. Ask questions and research. If your research doesn’t yield anything, avoid that person. They said if it walks and quacks like a duck, it’s definitely a duck!
Extravagant gifts
Exchange platforms like Astro Africa have a referral bonus scheme whereby they pay traders that refer other crypto traders to their platform. It’s a fair trade, one new customer for a token. However, there are sketchy platforms that promise extravagant gifts even when you’ve done nothing for them. It’s a huge red flag, and we know that everyone loves a free gift but avoid them to be safe.
Unknown sketchy account or numbers
If a strange number texts you out of the blue asking to invest and being overly friendly, you should block such a number immediately. No well-established exchange platform will obtain your number illegally to coax you into trading. You can sell crypto safely; all you need is an exchange platform.
How to avoid pig butchering scams
The best way to avoid pig butchering scams is to find an exchange platform that works for you and stick to trading on such a platform. There are several exchange platforms in Nigeria that offer good cryptocurrency exchange services. One of such platform is the Astro Africa exchange platform.
Astro Africa is a reliable and trustworthy platform that allows you to sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum at the best rates. Over the years, Astro Africa has been working tirelessly to ensure that rate at which crypto traders get scammed in Africa, and Ghana is significantly reduced. In this vein, Astro Africa has made crypto trading easier than we’ve always known it to be through its intuitive user interface.
Using Astro Africa, you’ll enjoy swift trades, good rates, impenetrable security, and responsive customer service. Take a strong stance today and say no to pig butchering scams with Astro Africa. Visit our website to create an account and start trading immediately. You can trust that your finances will thank you after trading crypto for cash with Astro Africa.
