Interpol hates the term ‘pig butchering’, suggests to call it ‘romance baiting’ instead

Law enforcement agencies and news outlets should change the narrative and no longer use the term ‘pig butchering’ to describe victims of dating and investment fraud.

‘Pig butchering’ is a type of scam that’s being used to depict victims of a fake romance or friendship who’ve been gradually lured into making increasing contributions as part of an investment fraud scheme.

The term ‘pig butchering’ comes from an analogy, comparing the initial phase of gaining the victims’ trust to the fattening of pigs before butchering them.

When a scammer decides he has stolen enough money from his target, the victim of ‘pig butchering’ is often left with great financial losses, as well as psychological harm.

Interpol detests the term ‘pig butchering’, because it dehumanizes and shames victims of investment fraud. The international criminal police agency is afraid that victims won’t come forward to seek help, or provide information to the authorities if we keep calling it ‘pig butchering’.

“Words matter. We've seen this in the areas of violent sexual offences, domestic abuse, and online child exploitation. We need to recognize that our words also matter to the victims of fraud. It's time to change our language to prioritize respect and empathy for the victims, and to hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes,” Acting Executive Director of Police Services at Interpol Cyrill Gout says in a statement.

Rather than calling it ‘pig butchering’, law enforcement agencies and media outlets should use the term ‘romance baiting’. This acknowledges that victims have been subjected to both sophisticated scam tactics and emotional manipulation.

To raise awareness, Interpol has made the abandoning of the term ‘pig butchering’ in favor of ‘romance baiting’ part of the ongoing Think Twice campaign, which aims to address the issues of online safety and vigilance when interacting online.

“Academic research clearly shows the links between the tactics of fraudsters and of perpetrators of domestic abuse and coercive control. It is imperative that we do not adopt the terminology of these criminals but instead use terms that assist public protection and support victim reporting,” dr. Elisabeth Carter, Associate Professor of Criminology and Forensic Linguist at Kingston University London, states.