Pig Butchering Scams Drive Crypto Fraud to $9.9 Billion in 2024 | Airdrop Alert Pro

The latest report from blockchain analytics firm chain analysis shows that cryptocurrencies scam In 2024, at least $9.9 billion in illegal revenue was generated. The most important contribution to this surge is the “pig slaughter” scam.

Pig slaughter often combines investment fraud with romance scams. In these scams, perpetrators build trust in the victims before convinced them to invest in fake crypto platforms.

Chain analysis reveals growing threat of pig slaughter

Chainalysis warns that estimated scam revenue in 2024 at $9.9 billion may be conservative. Instead, the final figure could exceed $12 billion. this Report Highlighted annual growth of pig slaughter incidents by nearly 40%, accounting for 33.2% of the total Crypto scam income.

According to the report, many of these actions come from Southeast Asia. Additionally, the report highlights the growing complexity of scammers, citing illegal services such as Huione Sublice, a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform that promotes fraud. Specifically, it is a telegraph-based market that serves Southeast Asian fraudsters, including those responsible for so-called pig slaughter.

The platform provides money laundering tools, stolen personal data and social media management services for scammers. Since 2021, Huione has reportedly guaranteed to process more than $70 billion in crypto transactions, thus cementing its role in the fraud ecosystem.

The study also reveals Huione guarantees a recent release of USDH Stablecoin and blockchain project Xone. These releases have raised concerns about new ways for fraudsters to cover up transactions.

The report enhances recent events The tether has frozen $29.62 million Related to Cambodia’s criminal activities involving Huione Group. Recently, the same is true for ovals exposed Huione guarantees online fraudsters are a multi-billion dollar market.

Generated AI and other encryption fraud methods

Chain analysis also highlights the role of generative AI in further enhancing scam strategies so that fraudsters can imitate victims. Specifically, it can help them bypass identity verification and create highly compelling fake investment platforms.

In addition to pig slaughtering and generating AI, other crypto fraud methods have also grown significantly in 2024:

• Address Poisoning: Scammers send small transactions from addresses, mimic victims’ contacts, and trick them into transferring funds into fraudulent wallets.
• Crypto churn: Phishing attacks increased by 170%, involving fake U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) incidents Breath of air.
• Live Scam and One Seventh: Deep scams and ransomware tactics generated by AI are becoming increasingly common.
• Employment scam: The fraudster pretends to be a legal company and deceives the victim into paying fraudulent training fees or tax deposits.

The use of cryptocurrency ATMs in scams has also surged. According to Chainalysis, the FBI reported that consumer losses have increased tenfold since 2020. Fraudsters often use these ATMs to get funds from victims who are convinced that they are making legal payments.

“While crypto cabinet ATMs are used for legitimate purposes, they are also popular among scammers, and in the past few years the FBI has received thousands of reports on cybercriminals that use Encrypt ATMS to receive the expenses of the scam,” excerpt from the report.

Chain Analysis also cites a case in which a fraudster deceives U.S. citizens to deposit $15,000 into Bitcoin ATM Pretend to repair computer viruses. Authorities intervened in part of the funding.

Based on these findings, Chain Analytics acknowledges challenges in law enforcement agencies in combat Cryptocurrency fraud. Although centralized communication (CEXS) remains the main channel for money laundering, the rise of decentralized finance (defi) Platforms make asset tracking complicated.