This master’s thesis aims to gain broader knowledge about the stages involved in the type of fraud where romance scam leads to investment fraud, also known as the pig butchering scam. Specifically, the thesis aims to result in a generalized crime script of the pig butchering scam, which can be used as a tool for implementing preventive measures or interventions.
The design of the thesis is based on a crime script theory generating case study design, drawing inspiration from the adaptive approach. To address the research question, mixed methods have been employed, with the empirical data consisting of 14 documents in the form of stories shared on the social media platform Reddit, where victims or their relatives describe their experiences with the pig butchering scam. Additionally, three semi-structured interviews have been conducted with professionals who qua their work, have broad experience with romance scam, investment fraud and manipulation techniques.
Based on the analysis, several standardized event sequences that generally apply to the pig butchering scam have been identified. Consequently, a generalized crime script has been derived, consisting of four stages: preparation, before, during, and after, along with multiple processes involved in each stage.
The pig butchering scam is an example of how offenders attempt to circumvent common prevention measures or interventions. However, based on the derived crime script, two preventive interventions have been identified that can have a preventive effect, regardless of the evolvement of modus operandi in the pig butchering scam over time. The two preventive measures are: 1) situational crime prevention during the first stage, and 2) increasing public awareness of the pig butchering scam, particularly to pre-vent the initial investment in the third stage.