How the REACT Task Force is Tackling Pig Butchering

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Pig butchering (so named after the practice of fattening up pigs before slaughter) is a form of investment fraud. These schemes typically involve scammers tricking their victims into making increasingly large deposits (often using cryptocurrencies) into fake accounts — a feat made easier thanks to the close relationships these scammers form with their victims via social media and messaging platforms. 

Because pig butchering involves deeply personal conversations and the illusion of meaningful relationships (and in many cases, love), the financial and emotional toll these scams take on victims can be grave. Erin West, Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County, explained that the human impact of pig butchering — which leverages a combination of romance scams and investment fraud — is truly unprecedented. 

“Pig butchering victims are really damaged in a way that we haven’t seen before,” she said. “We’ve never seen what happens when you lead a human to believe that they are in the relationship of their life . . . and then one day, that person comes to find out that it was all a lie.” 

How REACT is proactively fighting back against pig butchering

According to research from TRM, proceeds from pig butchering amounted to over USD 4.4 billion worth of crypto losses in 2023. And despite this figure declining slightly year-over-year (compared to USD 4.7 billion in 2022), this significant sum underpins the necessity of education to help victims avoid getting scammed — and aid law enforcement in unraveling these scams if they do happen.

West noted that witnessing the emotional and financial trauma that pig butchering puts victims through is one the biggest motivators for her work and a major driver for why she co-founded REACT (Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team): A high-tech investigative force based in Santa Clara, California. “You hear a grown man cry and talk about how he doesn’t know how he’s going to continue . . . it’s impactful,” she explained. “We can’t keep watching the same thing happen over and over.”

REACT conducts multi-jurisdictional investigations to restore justice and improve outcomes for victims of crimes like pig butchering. Through their combined resources and expertise, the local, state, and federal agency members of REACT are able to investigate, arrest, and prosecute a wide range of criminal offenders.

How better education for investigators leads to better outcomes for victims

For West, improving education on crypto investigations — and encouraging dialog amongst experts and practitioners — is vital for fighting crypto crime.

In addition to her work with REACT, West also created the Crypto Coalition in partnership with TRM Labs. The Crypto Coalition is a group of over 1,400 active law enforcement from local, state, federal, and international partners that meets monthly to share cryptocurrency crime-fighting skills and insights. The coalition encourages knowledge sharing amongst crypto industry leaders, teaches investigators the latest techniques and technologies, and provides resources to support victims of crypto crimes.

In 2023, the Crypto Coalition and TRM Labs joined forces to build the Tracer Fellowship Program, a 12-month fellowship program aimed at arming selected law enforcement personnel with full access to TRM’s suite of blockchain intelligence tools, training, certifications, and more. West has also collaborated with TRM’s leadership team and other industry partners to launch Operation Shamrock, an initiative to educate and enable law enforcement to more effectively combat pig butchering.

West noted that it’s critical for all law enforcement agencies to familiarize themselves with pig butchering so that they can best serve their communities and ask the right questions to help victims. In addition to joining organizations like the Crypto Coalition and Operation Shamrock, she recommends connecting with experts in the field to learn the foundations of crypto investigations and how to serve search warrants. 

“We’re on an upward trajectory of people who care [about stopping crypto crime], are competent, and are willing to share with others,” said West. “We’re only getting better, more educated, and more adept.”

How investigators can use blockchain intelligence to follow the funds 

In addition to community and education, law enforcement needs to invest in the right tools to help them fight increasingly complex crypto-based scams. Particularly with schemes like pig butchering on the rise, it’s more important than ever for investigators to leverage blockchain analytics to get the insights needed to follow the funds and seize them back on behalf of victims — particularly because many of these scams often involve sending funds overseas. 

“One of the quickest ways to get my head to explode is to tell me that once the money is overseas, it’s gone,” said West. Some law enforcement are unaware that cryptocurrency can be traced on the blockchain. And many don’t know that foreign VASPs will accept US-based seizure warrants to seize back victim funds. 

In reality, crypto-based transactions give law enforcement more power to trace lost or stolen funds — especially with a blockchain intelligence platform like TRM. “By following [these funds] on the blockchain to locations and exchanges where we can serve a search warrant, we can access those funds — even if they’re overseas,” West explained.

TRM allows investigators to identify investigative leads, build cases, and follow the money across 29 blockchains and 70M+ digital assets — powered by the largest and fastest-growing database of illicit crypto crime. Additionally, TRM operates Chainabuse.com: The largest scam and fraud victim reporting platform comprised of nearly 700k victim reports, enhanced with data that makes it easy for investigators to spot high-impact cases and link existing investigations to additional victims. 

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If you’re an investigator working with a victim (or possible victim) of a pig butchering scheme, be sure to share this video with them.