Tech executive scammed out of $450,000 by a man she met on Hinge in cruel 'pig ... trends now
A tech executive has revealed she fell victim to a cruel new 'pig butchering' scam - which sees romance fraudsters charm single individuals into investing in fake cryptocurrencies.
Shreya Datta, 37, lost $450,000 to a scammer posing as a handsome French wine trader called 'Ancel Mali' after she met him on Hinge and the two began exchanging WhatsApp messages.
The crime is known as 'pig butchering' because victims are effectively 'fattened up' with a fake romantic relationship before being butchered by fraudulent investment advice.
Datta, who describes herself as a 'romantic' with bad luck and recently divorced, told the Philadelphia Inquirer she was lured in by Ancel's devotion to her after months of trawling dating apps.
Ancel used an image of a German fitness influencer on his profile and spoke to Datta for months, eventually convincing her to put money into a fake investment app.
Shreya Datta, 37, revealed she lost $450,000 to a cruel new 'pig butchering' scam
The two never met in person but they spoke via video chat twice - though Ancel only showed her his dog on the call.
Datta - who earns a six-figure salary in a global tech firm - told the Inquirer she had felt as though she had 'a hole in my soul for not having a man in my life' - hence why she was tricked.
'I was in a trance,' she said adding 'it's like my psychology was hacked.'
Data from the FBI's Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3) shows cryptocurrency scams are the fastest growing type of investment fraud.
Last year victims reported losses of $2.57 billion - almost three times the amount in 2021. And last month the Department of Justice recovered $112 million worth of virtual currency linked to pig-butchering scams.
The 'pig butchering' con is long-winded and sees the scammer engage in a months-long relationship to build up trust.
Crooks often allow victims to withdraw money easily from the investment app in the beginning - but once they have invested heavily they will lose this option.
Datta talked harmlessly on Hinge with Ancel until they moved
