WASHINGTON (TND) — A district attorney from New York said Thursday that his unit of cryptocurrency investigators disrupted a “pig butchering” operation that defrauded people across the U.S. out of millions of dollars.

“Pig butchering” refers to a scheme where a suspect strikes up an online conversation with an unsuspecting individual – usually through text messages, dating sites or WhatsApp groups – and gains their trust so the victim can be steered towards fake cryptocurrency investments.

These bogus investments show “tremendous returns” but when the victim tries to withdraw big sums, they’re locked out of the account and lose the investment, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a news release.

Gonzalez established the Virtual Currency Unit in 2023 after he said he received many complaints from Brooklyn residents who were swindled out of money from “pig butchering.” A 51-year-old woman told NYPD in March 2023 that she had lost over $22,000 after being added to online chat rooms discussing cryptocurrency investments. She said she was told to download an app from the website coinformat.com and her account eventually grew to over $387,000. She attempted to withdraw her initial investment but was told she needed to pay taxes.

When she complained, she was locked out of the chat room and her money was gone, the release said.

Gonzalez’s investigation found the woman’s investment was moved through several crypto addresses in a way that was “consistent with money laundering.”

It was ultimately deposited into an account at a foreign cryptocurrency exchange and cashed out by an individual in a region beyond U.S. jurisdiction, possibly China,” Gonzalez said. “The investigation revealed additional victims of the same scheme, from California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, who had interacted (sic) with coinformat.com and lost a combined total of $366,665.”

The VCU unit analyzed crypto transactions and domain registry records which led to the discovery of more victims and a network of around 80 domains linked to the scheme. The combined loss between the victims is estimated to be over $1 million.

The DA’s office has received a myriad of similar complaints from people in Brooklyn, and Gonzalez said those losses total over $4 million.

“In particular, the Chinese and Russian communities in Brooklyn appear to have been targeted by random text message invitations to invest in cryptocurrency and advertisements on social media platforms,” Gonzalez continued. “…Anyone can be a target of this insidious scheme. Accordingly, the office has embarked on a public information campaign to inform residents in those communities and beyond.”

According to the release, law enforcement have learned that the perpetrators of these schemes rely on human trafficking victims to facilitate the scams at compounds centered mainly in regions of Southeast Asia.

The DA urges the public to be vigilant and remember the following tips:

• Don’t trust cryptocurrency investment opportunities that seem too good to be true.
• Do not make cryptocurrency investments based on the advice of someone you’ve never met in person.
• Don’t download investment apps from unverified cryptocurrency investment websites.
• Don’t install apps that force you to override your phone’s security features.
• Verify the legitimacy of a company. Ask a friend, family member, or contact the KCDA Command center if you are unsure if something is legitimate.
• Never allow download programs such as AnyDesk that allows remote access to your computer.