Despite the variations, the core of "pig butchering" scams remains the same: emotional manipulation. Through emotional connection, they can gain the victim's trust. Xiao Zui, a man nearing thirty from China, is almost always smoking. Dressed in fake Gucci pajamas and slippers, he confidently speaks in a safe house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

He claims his scam team has defrauded millions of dollars in recent years. He even wrote a script for "pig butchering" scams, teaching his subordinates how to lure victims step by step.

"During the process, you must tell the client a so-called heart-wrenching story," Xiao Zui says. "Women instinctively feel sorry for you and want to use this so-called maternal love to care for you." His commonly used persona is that of a self-made, ambitious, and gentle corporate executive betrayed by his ex-wife, which wins the sympathy and trust of many female victims.

After exchanging information, Xiao Zui frequently calls his victims, using his voice to seduce them. "In our industry jargon, this is called talk therapy."

Online scammers like Xiao Zui are known in the industry as "dog pushers." They frequently hunt for victims on dating websites, social media, and messaging apps.

“The personas we usually use are exceptionally handsome, wealthy, responsible, and caring,” Xiaozui stated. These personas can be easily bought online or stolen directly from influencers' social media accounts. Sometimes, scammers even use AI-powered deepfake software to conduct video conversations with their victims, making the scam more convincing.

“I can make you look like Andy Lau during a video call. Even the lip movements are identical; there's specialized software for that.”

Ultimately, the conversation shifts to cryptocurrency investments.

“It’s about creating a so-called dream,” Xiaozui said. “For example, if the victim is from Beijing, we might say, ‘I want to live with you in Beijing. A house in Beijing costs tens of millions. So, let’s work together to make that money.’”

“It’s about a scammer who can change a person’s entire life trajectory.”

In January 2022, an identical persona story resonated with “Joyce,” who was in Beijing. At the time, the 35-year-old believed she had met a reliable partner online. He claimed he would move from Shanghai to Beijing to live with her. To protect her privacy, Joyce was interviewed under a pseudonym.

“He was a young entrepreneur, and also single,” Joyce told the BBC. “I didn’t suspect he was a scammer.”

[Image caption: Joyce said the pressure of being a single woman in her late twenties was the main reason she was scammed.]

The scammer claimed to have insider trading information, guiding Joyce to deposit money into a fake investment platform, even proactively injecting extra “funds” into her account. On the platform’s balance sheet, Joyce appeared to be making high profits. After she exhausted her savings, the scammer encouraged her to borrow money from banks and apply for online loans.

“Looking back now, it was absolutely crazy. I was completely numb; it wasn’t money anymore, it was just numbers.”

When Joyce noticed something was wrong and tried to withdraw money from her “investment account,” she discovered she couldn’t.

She lost a total of nearly 800,000 RMB, most of which was borrowed. “That was the first time I saw my father cry… My family thought, ‘You’re so stupid, you have no sense of prevention at all,’” Joyce recalled. “I broke down then, I cried uncontrollably.”

If Joyce cannot repay her debts, China’s social credit scoring system will list her as a defaulter, which will severely impact every aspect of her life. To repay her debts, Joyce took on multiple part-time jobs, including livestreaming classical dance online.

“A perfectly good life, just because of a scammer, can change the entire trajectory of a person’s life.”

[Image caption: Joyce earns over 1,000 RMB per month from her livestreams.]

Pig butchering scams emerged in 2017, initially targeting mostly Chinese victims, but in recent years these scams have begun to spread internationally, with more and more people in other parts of Asia and Europe falling victim.

As the Chinese government cracks down on this scam domestically, fraud groups have shifted their focus to Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines. Recently, the fraud network appears to have expanded further, establishing bases in the UAE and Georgia.

Xiao Zui once helped manage a fraud ring located in Sihanoukville, a coastal city in Cambodia. Sihanoukville's endless white sand beaches were once a popular tourist destination, but in recent years, numerous real estate developments, primarily casinos, have flooded the city. Fraud rings, using casinos as a cover, gradually gathered in Sihanoukville.

[Image caption: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Cambodian authorities' crackdown on illegal online gambling, many investors have left Sihanoukville in recent years, leaving behind more than a thousand unfinished buildings.]

In Sihanoukville, Xiao Zui managed a 40-person fraud team, including victims of human trafficking who were forced into fraud.

"I've bought people, and I've sold people," Xiao Zui said calmly. He claimed that human trafficking is very common in the local online fraud industry.

[Night-to-night fraud and violent threats]

When "Brother" (pseudonym) learned that his price was $20,000, he felt like a commodity on a shelf for sale.

"They bought and sold right in front of me... you add, I subtract," Brother recalled.

The 30-year-old brother previously worked at an internet cafe in China. In January 2022, after being introduced to a high-paying job in the gaming industry by an acquaintance, he decided to leave his hometown to work there. Little did he know that he would be trafficked to a heavily guarded casino complex in Sihanoukville, where he was forced to scam people online.

The BBC contacted him during his imprisonment, and he secretly recorded his daily life in the scam complex.

"When I arrived, (the complex's leaders) told me that if I tried to escape, they would kill me," the brother whispered in a video diary entry.

[Image caption: The brother secretly recorded his daily life in the scam complex during his imprisonment.]

The brother stated that the complex he was in was called "Royal Music," and he was not allowed to leave. Security guards guarded the exits, surveillance cameras were everywhere in the offices, and the windows of the office buildings and dormitories were fitted with iron bars.

The younger brother said he was assigned to an international "pig butchering" scam group, working 12-hour shifts every day, sending private messages to 100 people in Europe and America online. If he didn't meet his targets, he had to work overtime and even faced violence such as electric shocks and beatings.

"Nobody here cares about your life or death, they just want you to work yourself to death to make money for them!" the younger brother wrote in a video diary entry.

The horrific abuse and harsh conditions within the Huangle Park area are widely known. In June 2022, a Chinese man named Mi Lijun fell ill within the Huangle Park area and did not receive treatment. He was abandoned on a highway and died shortly afterward from organ failure.

[Image caption: Security guards stand at the exit of the "Huangle" park; surveillance cameras are everywhere in the offices; and iron bars are installed on the windows of the office buildings and dormitories.]

The younger brother claimed that multiple fraud groups operate within the Huangle Park area. In his company alone, hundreds of scammers are engaged in illegal activities such as "pig butchering" scams, cryptocurrency scams, and money laundering around the clock. They were almost all young men and women in their 20s and 30s, from China and several Southeast Asian countries.

In recent months, thousands of young people like Xiaodi have been deceived and forced into online scams. The scam groups use every means to acquire manpower. One human trafficking victim told the BBC that he was kidnapped on the street and sold to a scam group. In Sihanoukville, there's even a saying that Chinese people are "walking dollars."

Even Xiaozui was trafficked and abused. After he demanded a higher share of the profits, his boss had him pushed to the ground and beaten.

"At that time, I thought, 'That's it, I'm definitely not going to survive this.'"

Xiaozui ultimately survived, but was severely beaten and sold to another scam group. However, he eventually escaped.

Xiaozui used to manage his "dog pushers" with fear, but now he himself is tormented by fear.

"My previous boss, if he catches me now, he'll definitely kill me," Xiaozui said, adding that he now regrets his actions. “I actually hate this industry. Many clients were scammed and cried their hearts out,” he said. From now on, he just wants a peaceful life.

[Image caption: Xiaozui claims he was not only beaten but also trafficked to another scam group for $20,000.]

After being imprisoned for four months, his brother sent a farewell message to the BBC: “I really didn’t want to hurt anyone… I really couldn’t take it anymore… This is my last goodbye.”

He then disappeared online for several hours. When he finally came back online, he sent an exciting message: “I escaped.”

When his brother decided to jump from the building in the industrial park, it was about 4 a.m., the scam group’s mealtime. It was raining outside, and the darkness and the sound of the rain provided him with perfect cover.

His brother found a gap between two air conditioner units on the third floor of the dormitory, just big enough for him to squeeze through.

“I didn’t care about anything else, I just jumped… The fall hurt terribly, I could barely walk.”

He landed on the grass outside the park, then crawled to the road and flagged down a taxi. His brother gave the driver $100, almost all the money he had. He told the driver to leave the park and drive on.