Amid a struggling economy, young Chinese individuals facing job difficulties have become targets of scammers. One distressing case involves a teenager with a mental disability who was allegedly manipulated into undergoing an expensive breast augmentation surgery in order to become an influencer. The woman accused the clinic of misleading her son by promising that he could earn money through live streaming after the surgery.
Another victim, Ding, fell prey to a scheme where he was deceived into renting an electric bike for a year through installment payments. However, when his earnings from deliveries proved insufficient to cover the bike rental fees, he decided to terminate the contract early. Unfortunately, he was then hit with bills for repair costs due to alleged damage to the bike.
These incidents have sparked widespread outrage among Chinese netizens. However, it is challenging to determine the true extent of this issue since data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) only account for urban areas. In June 2023, this closely monitored indicator reached a historic high of 21.3 percent before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) adjusted its calculation method by excluding full-time students from the youth unemployment rate.
The scam known as “pig butchering” involves scammers establishing trust with victims before convincing them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency ventures. Once victims make their investment, scammers sever communication and disappear with their money. These criminals often utilize dating apps and social media platforms as hunting grounds for their targets.
It is worth noting that many of these pig butchering scammers are themselves victims hailing predominantly from China and Southeast Asia.
