Google sues Chinese developer for distributing 87 'pig slaughter' apps

Google accused Yunfeng Sun and Hongnam Cheung of posting 87 fraudulent applications on the Play Store, taking money from 100,000 people through "pig slaughter".

The lawsuit was filed by Google in New York state court on April 4, related to fraud that has been carried out since 2019. "Pig Butchering" is a term that appears in the field of cryptocurrency. Similar to romance scams, scammers try to get to know their victims through encrypted applications like WhatsApp or Telegram, then spend months or even years building a close relationship with the victim, calling is to "fatten" them, luring them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency applications. Once a certain amount of money is reached, that person will never return.

Illustration of a victim of a "pig slaughter" scam. Photo: Propublica

Google said two Chinese developers have released 87 applications impersonating digital currency exchanges and investment channels on the Play Store app store to trap users in the US and Canada. The company said these two people had "affected global consumers and caused significant losses".

Google attempted to remove the app, but the two programmers continued to create many more apps using "new aliases and infrastructure". The lawsuit shows that "pig slaughter" scams are on the rise globally, trapping thousands of victims.

SCMP cited a warning from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that after the victim invested in cryptocurrency through the fake website, they discovered that all withdrawal requests were refused. The scammer even asks the victim to deposit more money or collects a fee if they want to get their deposited money back. Once the prey is exhausted, the thief will cut off contact and disappear with the money. In Asia, "pig slaughter" scams broke out from Covid-19.

In the lawsuit, Google said the two Chinese developers began approaching the victim with seemingly "stubborn" messages to attract attention and get acquainted. Thieves also run ads for investment scam videos. Sun and Cheung's applications caused financial losses ranging from $100 to tens of thousands of dollars to approximately 100,000 victims.

In China, the government also increased repression of "pig slaughter" activities. In a January 2023 announcement, national television channel CCTV said Myanmar authorities had handed over more than 44,000 online fraud suspects to Chinese partners. Earlier this month, Xinhua reported that another 807 suspects were arrested in Myanmar in March, including 455 from Myanmar and 354 from China.