There is yet another scam to be aware of. The Saskatoon Police Service Economic Crime Unit and Cybercrime Detail is advising the public about the rise and the increasingly devastating effects of a cryptocurrency-related scam commonly known as “pig butchering”. The Police Service explains that it typically begins with an unsolicited text, email, or contact through social media with a message supposedly intended for someone other than the victim.

Over time, the fraudster gains the trust of the victim and then introduces a website or phone application that appears to be a legitimate investment platform. To ease any concerns, suspects will get victims to invest small amounts of funds on the platform and then a larger amount comes back to their personal account shortly after. This convinces the victim to invest large sums on this fake platform. It looks like they are getting large returns and suspects then encourage them to invest more and more. These investments aren’t real.

Once the victim is ready to make a withdrawal, the suspects will say that taxes and fees need to be paid first. Once the fraudsters suspect their victim won’t be investing any more, they stop contact, leaving the victim with a large loss of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Anyone who has been a victim of this scam or if you have any information regarding the “pig butchering” scam, is urged to contact the Saskatoon Police.