A sudden, friendly message from a seemingly charming and successful stranger… this seemingly pleasant encounter could be the start of a criminal romance scam. In recent years, victims of these scams have suffered losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide.

Behind the glamorous facade of the con artists lies a sinister criminal network: Many online scammers are actually victims of human trafficking and are forced to carry out their scams in heavily guarded, prison-like facilities in Southeast Asia.

An investigation by BBC International exposed the inner workings of these fraudulent facilities and included an exclusive interview with a former ringleader who revealed the various tricks the criminal romance scammers used to lure their victims.

Xiao Zui's most valuable asset is his deep, magnetic voice. Whenever he speaks to his victims, they obey him and readily hand over their money. Xiao Zui prefers to give interviews under his real name but readily shares his secrets as a former professional con artist.

He referred to his victims as "pigs," and his goal was to "breed" and ultimately "slaughter" them—that is, to build trust with them and trick them into depositing money into a fake cryptocurrency investment platform. In the final step, he squeezed every last cent out of them.

The "Pig Slaughter" Scam

"No matter how it's disguised, the core of the 'pig slaughter' scam is always the same: emotions. Emotions are how you make them believe you," said Xiao Zui, a man from China approaching thirty, who almost always has a cigarette in his hand. Wearing fake Gucci pajamas and slippers, he spoke eloquently in a secure house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.


He claimed his team of con artists had swindled millions of dollars in recent years, and he even wrote a script for the "pig slaughter scam," teaching his subordinates step-by-step how to lure their victims.

"You have to tell the victim heartbreaking stories," Xiaozui said. "Women are subconsciously very desperate and want to use this perceived maternal love to take care of you." His usual image is that of a successful, ambitious, and kind-hearted manager who was cheated on by his ex-wife. This has earned him the sympathy and trust of many female victims.