How Cambodia-based scammers made an estimated $3 million in ‘pig butchering’ scheme
Last October, Sean Gallagher received an unexpected text message from a young Malaysian woman calling herself Harley.
She said she ran a wine business in Vancouver that was struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result Harley learned how to make money through cryptocurrency trading. She was willing to share her secrets, she said. Gallagher, a senior threat researcher at cybersecurity firm Sophos, happily accepted.
The conversation with Harley led him to discover a Cambodia-based threat actor, which he dubbed “Sour Grapes,” that allegedly made over $3 million in cryptocurrency over a period of five months through a so-called pig butchering scheme. In these scams, cybercriminals use social engineering tactics to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or transferring money. Hackers often find their victims through dating apps, social media sites, and even random SMS texts, as in Gallagher’s case.
