The rise of cyber-scam syndicates in Southeast Asia constitutes a global crisis. CNN and The New York Times recently ran exposés on these operations, which extract billions of dollars from victims across the world, often through cryptocurrency. One type of cyber-scam, the “pig butchering scam” – shazhupan in Mandarin Chinese – involves the grooming of victims over months, a process akin to the fattening up of a pig for slaughter. Their perpetrators lurk in dating apps and social media, often weaving romance and gambling psychology into their modus operandi.
While existing writings focus on the role of the nature of these operations and China’s recent crackdowns, we argue that the U.S. and China, as the world’s two great powers, should come together in combatting these transnational criminal organizations. In working together, they will have greater effectiveness than they would working separately.
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