Manon, an ambitious young woman, recently fell victim to an online scam, plunging into the disturbing world of pig butchering. She was manipulated by a cyber fraud ring that bilked her out of a substantial sum of money. Her experience illustrates the vulnerability of victims to these sophisticated scams. Today, Manon wants to share her story to raise awareness and warn others of the dangers of fraud in the digital world.
Portrait of Manon: the disillusionment of an easy income scam
Manon has fallen for one of the new scams: the pig butchering. We interviewed her and she told us her story.
The shattered dream of a supplementary income
It all starts with a part-time job ad seen on Facebook.
The offer promises Manon a source of additional incomeThe perfect way to make ends meet. Curious, she followed the link, which redirected her to a site imitating the famous clothing platform Shein. This well-designed site displayed testimonies from women claiming to have made easy money by placing orders online.
"I thought it might be a good way of supplementing my income to make ends meet. she recalls. "And then, these women's reviews on the site seemed so real."
Manon then contacted a woman calling herself Briana, who explained that she was a single mother and that this " work "It's the only way she can provide for her daughter. Comforted by this apparent proximityManon begins to place orders, hoping to earn commission in return.
A slow dive into the scam
For each order completed, Manon receives commission commitmentsBut first she has to pay.
Confident in the process, she followed Briana's instructions and placed ten orders via Briana's account. Initially, these purchases enabled her not only to generate commissionsbut also help it to recover its initial investment.
"Briana kept telling me that I was on the right track, that with a few more orders I could make all the money back, plus commission."
Once the ten orders had been placed, Briana suggested that she open an account so that she could place the orders herself rather than through her. In this way, Manon would be able to fall back on the orders to be placed and become a a genuine self-employed entrepreneur.
"She told me it would be the start of my own business. says Manon. "I felt like I was gaining more independence."
Manon opened her account and started placing orders. The result was fruitful: her orders were reimbursed and she even obtained a return on her investment.
However, as the transactions progress, the amounts demanded increase. Manon found herself involved in a financial spiralconstantly having to invest more to "finalise" the process and release the money promised.
After several days, the total deposits finally reach 50,000 euros. Despite her growing doubts, she hangs on, convinced that she can make it all back by completing a few more orders.
"I'd already invested so much money... I told myself that after all that, I couldn't give up now," he says. explains Manon. "I really thought that everything would be reimbursed if I made a few more orders.
The bitter discovery of the scam
Manon began to have doubts when, after several exchanges on TelegramAs a result, his correspondents asked him for ever-increasing sums.
She confides in a developer friend, who studies the site and notices anomalies. Faced with new payment requirements on Telegram, Manon asked for further proof that the operation was legitimate. It was then that she realised that the promise of a refund at the end of the process was just a decoy.
Worse still, more in-depth research shows that operations are carried out from a computer in Burma and use a Chinese computer language. Manon then realised the extent of the deception.
Desperate, she lodges a complaint with the police in ThailandShe had her complaint translated into Thai, but to no avail. She contacted the French Embassy in Thailandbut once again, no progress was made.
"I tried everything to get my money back, but there was nothing I could do.
Her accounts are now frozen and Manon will probably never get back the money she invested.
Need more information? Read our article Focus on the different banking players
Pig butchering: an online scam that traps victims over the long term
THE pig butcheringwhich could be translated as "pig fattening", is a new and increasingly sophisticated scam in which swindlers gain the trust of their victims before extract large sums of money.
This type of scam works in several stages. Here's how it works.
Fraudsters lure victims with job offers, enticing advertisements or promises of high returns, often through cryptocurrency investment platforms or online shopping sites.
Once the victim is involved, the fraudsters encourage them to make larger and larger depositsThey play on the lure of profit and the fear of losing the money already invested.
Scammers can wait several weeks, even months, before establishing a a relationship of trust with their targets. They "fatten" them up little by little to maximise their earnings before disappearing. Victims often have no idea of the deception until it's too late to get their money back.
Well-established criminal organisations in South-East Asia
Behind this type of scam are hidden cybercrime cartelsoften based in a region of South-East Asia, encompassing the Burma, THE Laos and the Cambodia.
In these areas, which are partly beyond the control of the authorities, the cartels employ thousands of African and Chinese workersThey are often forced to operate from "cyberfraud cities".
These well-hidden sites serve as logistics bases and operationalThis is where little hands receive sophisticated scripts and protocols to target their victims. Operators maintain falsely reassuring dialogue and prepare dummy websites.
In the case of pig butchering, these scams involve a psychological manipulation constant. Victims are led to believe that they are investing or at least collaborating with benevolent people. Unfortunately, the majority of them, such as ManonThey only discover the deception after having lost considerable sums of money.
Pig butchering: raising awareness for better protection
Manon's story reveals the complexity of well-established fraud networks. Victims, often looking for financial stability or additional income, find themselves trapped by unscrupulous manipulators.
To combat pig butchering, it is essential to raise awareness so that everyone can recognise the signs of fraud and avoid being caught out.
How can we combat this type of fraud?
At Finovox, we want to combat these massive scams. How do we do this? By fighting against online scams and the money launderingwith advanced technology. The main aim of our solution is to make it possible to detect warning signs of suspicious transactions.
To find out more about money laundering : Combating money laundering and terrorist financing: towards the adoption of new rules
Our software is based on artificial intelligence algorithms capable of analysing large volumes of financial data in real time. It identifies atypical behaviour and the attempts to document fraud !
Finovox offers financial institutions a a monitoring system that alerts companies to abnormal movements or fraudulent interactions.
This anti-fraud technology, which has already been adopted by several banks and payment platforms, represents a valuable advance in user protection.
The aim of Finovox is not only to secure financial transactionsIt also aims to raise awareness of the dangers of online fraud among the general public and economic players.
Want to find out more about our solution? Contact our experts, who can answer all your questions.
EN 
FR 
ES 
IT