The term “pig butchering” has successfully raised public awareness of online scams that can drain people of their savings and financial livelihood. Unfortunately, the term has failed to get people to come forward and report these crimes, in part because no victim wants to be called a “pig,” according to Interpol.
Interpol (who are technically also pigs, if you think about it) is asking governments and organizations to stop using pig butchering as a catchall term for online scams. The primary reason: the phrase, while evocative and attention-grabbing, puts the blame on the victims rather than the criminals. That makes sense given the origin of the phrase, which didn’t come from law enforcement or cybersecurity experts but from the scammers themselves.
In place of pig butchering, which has become a big umbrella term, Interpol recommends using more specific language that focuses on the actions of the criminal actors rather than the victims. For example, terms like “investment scam” or “romance baiting” more accurately define the fraud being committed and don’t place additional stigma on the people who are being preyed upon.
Little as the change may seem, it can make a difference. Language is charged in all sorts of ways that we might not realize. For example: saying a person “reported” a crime instead of saying they “alleged” a crime happened can provide comfort for the reporter. To “report” suggests that it happened, while “alleging” a crime suggests a level of doubt. Studies have also found that the language used to describe someone involved in a crime can lead to more negative associations. When a person is referred to as a “felon,” people are more likely to have negative reactions to them, while a “person with a felony conviction” produces more positive responses.
All that said, it’s not too hard to figure out why people who just had their bank accounts siphoned down to zero would rather not be called “pigs” who got fattened up for the slaughter by some sweet-talking scammer.
If Interpol’s change in language results in more reports of criminal activity, it’s a win. Americans were defrauded out of more than $10 billion in 2023, according to the FTC, including $4.6 billion to investment scams and $1.14 billion from romance baiting. The FBI found that online scams were up 22% from 2022 and likely still climbing thanks to cybercriminals increasingly utilizing AI tools to carry out their schemes.
Ideally, more reports of these scams will help agencies like Interpol crackdown on the perpetrators, who have created more victims than just those they steal money from. Reporting from the Wall Street Journal and Wired have highlighted the labor behind some of these scams is carried out by people who have been trafficked and forced to work or face beatings and torture.