NEW DELHI: The government has issued an alert about a new cyber fraud scheme called the ‘pig butchering scam,’ which targets unemployed youth, students, and vulnerable individuals. Victims not only lose money but are also forced into cyber slavery, officials said on Wednesday.This was also highlighted in the latest annual report published by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs last month, they said, adding that unscrupulous individuals and entities have been noticed using Google services platforms to initiate these crimes.A senior official said, “According to reports from the cyber intelligence wing, a new online fraud module known as ‘Pig Butchering Scam’ or ‘Investment Scam’ has been noticed doing the rounds in cyberspace, which targets unemployed youths, housewives, students, and needy people, who are made to either lose large sums of money daily or are enticed to do cyber slavery.”He said, “Google Advertisement platform provides a convenient facility for posting targeted advertisements from across the border. This scam, known as ‘Pig Butchering Scam’ or ‘Investment Scam,’ is a global phenomenon and involves large-scale money laundering and even cyber slavery.”
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