Authorities warn of a pig butchering scam in North Dakota. “Pig butchering” scams are sophisticated financial schemes where fraudsters “fatten up” victims with promises of enormous returns before stealing their money. These scams typically present as investment opportunities or romantic connections, contacting victims through email, text, or online chatbots. Dustin Bitz of Railway Credit Union tells KFYR that scammers offer unrealistic returns of 40-50% and have been capitalizing on AI to appear more professional, using it to overcome language barriers that typically would cause suspicion, making their operations seem more legitimate. The financial impact is substantial, with Americans losing $6 billion to these scams last year. Bitz advises avoiding any opportunity that sounds too good to be true.
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