Pig Butchering: Scams Are On The Rise, Says Binance Exchange

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Pigs as cyber scam operators as a surreal, cinematic, oil painting 2

Crypto scams, often known as "pig butchering," are becoming all too common.

Imagine receiving a text from a stranger, pretending to know you, even using a false name. They may try to convince you that you met at a Bitcoin conference or win your trust through a fake romantic connection.

Their goal? To trick you into sending them your hard-earned cryptocurrency. This, friends, is the essence of "pig butchering" - a modern-day swindling game.

According to recent data from Binance, a major cryptocurrency exchange, these scams have more than doubled from 2022 to 2023.

Crypto exchanges are central to these scams because they let money travel quickly and efficiently worldwide.

For example, a scammer in the U.S. might ask you to put funds into a crypto wallet and then send them to an address on Binance.

From there, the scammer can send the funds somewhere else or change them into regular money, often outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement.

Interestingly, Binance itself is not the problem.

In fact, it helped the Department of Justice seize over $112 million tied to these scams in April 2023.

You see, scammers have to go through the usual customer identification process to use Binance, and they hope that the police won't trace the scams back to their accounts.

While it might seem that the ease of digital transactions makes these scams more attractive, the experts at Binance argue that the clear record of transactions makes it easier for police to track and seize funds.

Arrests are still rare, as many scammers operate outside the reach of U.S. law, but getting the stolen money back is becoming increasingly common with coordination from authorities. Read more here.

Reducing Scams With Zucoins And Splitchain

The recent surge in scams like "pig butchering" underscores the importance of security measures in the world of cryptocurrency.

Zucoins' Splitchain network has been designed with a robust two-way transaction authentication system that automatically expires after 90 seconds of inactivity.

This feature effectively requires both sender and receiver to confirm a transaction, significantly reducing the risk of scams, such as sending coins to a person claiming to be someone you know.

In the two-way process, an incoming transaction can be denied, adding another layer of security against unwanted transactions.

This contrasts with the one-way transactions used in traditional cryptocurrencies, where the receiver has no say in the transaction, tying them into association with the scammer or worse, underground criminals, without their knowledge.

By creating this different transaction mechanism, Zucoins positions itself as a safer alternative to these scam activities that have tainted areas of the market.

As public awareness grows about these scams, the role of education cannot be overstated.

MyZucoins, with these kinds of posts, hopes to proactively educate users about the risks and red flags associated with scams.

Even with our best efforts to introduce innovative safety mechanisms, encouraging a secure and informed Zucoins community to be diligent is a robust defense against the evolving landscape of crypto scams.


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All the best,
Peter & Rob
MyZucoins

Disclaimer: Of course, this is not advice, financial or otherwise. It’s also important to consider the risks and challenges associated with any potential benefits.

 

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