Pig Butchering Is Getting Worse with Erin West

Pig butchering is worse than just manipulating someone and taking
their money. It leaves them with emotional anguish. Once their
finances have been drained, they lose their financial security
and they no longer trust people. Today’s guest is Erin West. Erin
has been with the County of Santa Clara for 26 years and is a
Deputy District Attorney. She specializes in cryptocurrency
investigations and prosecutions. 
Show Notes:

[0:46] - Erin shares her background and what her role is as a
Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County.

[3:20] - Five years ago, Erin found herself working on
prosecutions regarding SIM swapping and cryptocurrency hacks.

[4:35] - The emotional impact of “just a financial crime,” is
staggering.

[7:38] - You never know who around you is a victim of some of
these crimes.

[8:18] - Erin describes the experience of being convinced to
click a link herself. 

[10:32] - Scammers will think about different things that
would trigger someone into clicking a link.

[13:40] - Pig butchering involves building trust with a
victim and showing them a false plush lifestyle.

[16:08] - A red flag is a text or social media message you
may receive that seems misdirected or to a wrong number.

[19:21] - It feels like the right thing to do when we feel
the need to respond to the scammer with a “you’ve got the wrong
number,” but that’s how they start a conversation.

[22:29] - In many cases, scammers bulk text a massive amount
of phone numbers. But some people are specifically targeted on
social media.

[24:23] - Covid really accelerated this type of scam due to
loneliness.

[25:40] - A misconception is that these scams target the
elderly. But it is not based on age at all.

[27:03] - Unfortunately, law enforcement is not set up to be
able to handle this type of crime.

[28:18] - Erin explains that law enforcement doesn’t tend to
always lead with empathy when this type of crime is reported.

[30:12] - It is important to report the crime to local law
enforcement, but there are other places that the crime can be
reported to in addition.

[32:50] - Victims should be able to speak to a detective.

[34:33] - Victims should be very wary of third party recovery
programs.

[37:26] - On the other side of things, a scammer could also
be a victim of human trafficking and being forced to scam others.

[39:40] - Scams are being operated on a massive scale and
have a front of a corporate business.

[41:14] - Initially, most of the cases seemed to have money
moved out of the country. However, recently scammers have been
found to be operating in the US.

[44:04] - There is some hope and opportunities in recent
months where money laundering has been intercepted.

[46:41] - Progress in education and advocating for less
victim shaming is moving in the right direction.



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