Comment by kccqzy
6 months ago
I still don't get it. Is pig butchering a common phrase in Chinese to refer to scams? I believe the phrase, even in its original Chinese language, was only invented recently (Wikipedia says 2016). That doesn't answer the question of why this particular phrase was invented.
The particular reason that this is now associated with a Chinese phrase, and organized Chinese crime in general, is because of the scale involved.
The UN estimates that in Myanmar alone, up to 100,000 people are being trafficked to staff the call centers involved in these schemes. https://www.dw.com/en/how-chinese-mafia-are-running-a-scam-f...
That being said it's not just Chinese people targeting overseas people. Chinese people are also often targets of pig butchering. The problem is so bad that a movie was made about it in China and earned $500M at the box office. Given that China heavily censors its media market, it is no secret who is doing what. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_More_Bets
Because, this is how the scammers described themselves, in Mandarin using colorful language.
Mostly degradatory. The scammers think the victims (pigs) are stupid.