How Scammers Have Become Better at Manipulating Us

Scams have become much more sophisticated. 

Set aside the notion that the people trying to trick you into handing over money or personal information are small-time con artists trying to make a quick buck. Scams today are often run by overseas crime syndicates using modern technology, social engineering tactics and massive teams of people, many of whom are victims of human trafficking, to exploit victims around the world. 

“We are in a very different space than we’ve ever been before,” says Erin West, a former deputy district attorney in Santa Clara County, California, and founder of Operation Shamrock, a nonprofit organization that helps combat overseas scamming operations. 

During the last three years of her more than 26-year career as a prosecutor, West says that she was inundated with cases involving victims of this new breed of scams. The techniques used by the scammers were so effective that some victims lost every penny they had, West says. 

West and the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office were able to help 34 scam victims recover $4.5 million in 2022 and 2023. However, many victims never see their money again once it falls into the hands of these overseas scam operations. That’s why it’s important to understand how these scams work and what you can do to avoid becoming a victim. 

How overseas scam centers operate

Overseas scam centers, known as scam farms, are typically run by organized crime groups based in Southeast Asia, according to the United Nations. They specialize in what are called pig butchering schemes that tend to target older adults online or through text messages with the aim of developing friendships then luring victims into investing in cryptocurrency. 

The scammers themselves are typically victims of human trafficking. The organized crime groups recruit workers from low-wage countries with high unemployment rates. They lure them with professional-looking ads promising relatively high-paying jobs at facilities in Southeast Asia. Once recruits travel to the locations of these jobs, they are locked into gated compounds with armed guards, West says.

The compounds, which West has seen, can be as small as a single office building or the size of a college campus. They are forced to work at least 16 hours a day and are tortured if they don’t comply or try to escape, West says. 

When compounds are shut down, the organized crime groups simply set up shop in another country to continue exploiting people. “This is an international crisis,” West says.

How the scams work

The pig butchering scams—also known as romance baiting scams—that are perpetrated by overseas scam centers tend to follow a particular pattern. 

They typically start with a seemingly innocent text message: “How are you doing?” The greeting might vary, but it will come from a number you don’t recognize—prompting you to respond by asking, “Who is this?” or “You must have the wrong person.” 

The sender messages back with an apology for contacting the wrong person but then tries to strike up a conversation. If you respond, the scammer will ask seemingly friendly questions, such as how your day is going, where you live, what you do for a living. The aim is to gather information the scammer can use to connect with you by claiming to have similar interests.  

The scammer will likely send photos of an attractive man or woman, claiming to be that person. The messages will become more frequent as the scammer tries to inject himself or herself into your life, hoping to lead you into believing that the two of you have developed a romantic relationship, West says.

She says the scammer will also claim to be living a high-end lifestyle and credit his or her wealth to investing in cryptocurrency or similar assets. Then comes the pitch: an offer to help you invest through the cryptocurrency trading platform the scammer uses. 

You’ll be pointed to a legitimate-looking site that actually is fake and encouraged to invest just a small amount at first.  It will appear that you’re making money on your investment, so the scammer will prompt you to invest more and more.

Victims often are encouraged to put all of the money in their checking, savings and retirement accounts into fake cryptocurrency or other investments. Some scammers even talk victims into taking on debt to invest more. “They will take every last cent,” West says. “They will take it all.”

Once the scammers get as much as they can from you, they will cut off contact. The loss for victims is not only financial but also emotional because they were led to believe they were in a loving relationship with the scammer. 

Why these scams are so effective

These scammers are operating from scripts that have been carefully crafted by experts in emotional manipulation, West says. They say all the right things to gain the affection of their victims. Then, the scammers can use that affection to get victims into a state where they no longer act rationally.

“We are not equipped on a personal level to see we are being manipulated in this way,” West says. In fact, 77% of people identified by the FBI as victims of these schemes were unaware that they were being scammed, according to the FBI. 

How to protect yourself

Awareness is the key to avoiding these new, highly sophisticated scams—as well as any other scams. “We need to put ourselves on constant alert that this is happening,” West says. Taking these steps can help:

Be skeptical of all unsolicited messages. Question any text message, email or call you get out of the blue. Don’t assume that it’s a kind stranger trying to strike up a conversation or that it’s actually your financial institution, government agency or any business you know and trust reaching out to you. “Everything is a scam until proven otherwise,” West says.

Be alert to emotional manipulation. “Anything that makes your heart pick up, that’s a scam,” West says. Scammers will use the promise of gain or the threat of loss to get you to respond emotionally rather than rationally. So if someone you’ve never met in person is claiming to be in love with you, offering you a way to make a lot of money fast or saying something bad will happen if you don’t act immediately, it’s likely a scam. 

Do a reverse image search. If someone you’ve met online shares photos of themselves with you, go to images.google.com, click on the camera icon and upload the image to see what name or names are commonly associated with the image. If the search results reveal that several names are associated with the image or a different name from the one your contact shared with you, it’s a red flag.

Talk to someone you trust before making any investments or giving money to someone you’ve never met in person. Ask a family member, your financial advisor or attorney, or a representative at your bank or credit union to get a second opinion. You also can use the free Carefull ScamCheck tool to determine whether a message you've received is likely a scam.

Get a second set of eyes on your finances. A financial safety service such as Carefull provides 24/7 monitoring of your checking, savings, credit card and investment accounts. It can detect changes in your financial behavior that can be warning signs that you are a victim of a scam and will alert you. Plus, you can add family members as trusted contacts and give them view-only access to accounts that are being monitored so that they can be alerted to any suspicious activity and help you, if necessary. 

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