An ex-journalist lost almost $300,000 of her savings in just 10 weeks after falling prey to a “pig butchering” scam orchestrated by someone posing as a young woman.
Al Levine, 82, a former sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, recounted how it all began with a random text from a person named “Daisy Miller,” inviting him to a cookout. Even after the texter mentioned an error about who they were speaking to, Levine continued to engage and answer questions about his life.
“I took 10 years off my age,” he noted.
Levine shared that their communication quickly turned into a sort of relationship, with “Daisy” claiming to own a jewelry business in Los Angeles. She expressed, “I want to spend my October birthday with you.”
“The beautiful photos kept coming,” said Levine. “She was stunning, and we began what felt like an affair.”
This back-and-forth soon shifted from romance to business discussions. One message from “Daisy” read, “I believe that many beautiful things await us.” She suggested engaging in short-term gold futures investments.
Levine admitted that he’d ignored several red flags—he was lonely since leaving his job after facing a plagiarism scandal. “Despite all the warnings, I believed her,” he said.
“What made this believable was her tactic of sharing her location and sending pictures from places like the San Diego Zoo,” he added.
One evening, they even prepared a meal “together” through texts and screenshots.
Despite some suspicions, including visiting a local fraud unit for advice, Levine found no answers. He also attempted a reverse image search and came up empty-handed. “After those minimal efforts, I completely let my guard down,” he admitted.
“Daisy” began sending screenshots showing her supposed successful investments through a site named SunX. While there is a legitimate trading platform by that name, scammers had created a fake version for fraudulent purposes.
Levine wrote, “I had no idea I was dealing with a scam until it was far too late.” He shared his budding romance and photos with his daughters, who voiced concerns. “How do we know she’s real?” one of them questioned, advising him to stay away from any business transactions with her.
Regardless, Levine disregarded their warnings. When “Daisy” tempted him into investing, he funneled $20,000, misleading his advisor by saying he needed money for a new car. He was soon thrilled to see early “profits” rolling in.
“The first night I invested, I was ecstatic to see a profit of $1,920,” Levine mentioned. Soon, he withdrew $70,000 and then drained the rest of his portfolio, amounting to $133,000, even as his daughters cautioned against it.
He dismissed their concerns and doubled down on another $20,000 investment after “Daisy” promised larger returns. By early October, his account showed $1.3 million—yet it was all a lie. When he attempted to withdraw the funds, he was asked to pay $216,000 in fictitious taxes. That was his final warning.
Ultimately, his family confirmed that the trading platform was bogus and the funds had vanished into thin air. Levine ended up losing a staggering $271,000, leaving him with nothing.
Now, he survives on Social Security and a pension and has been forced to sell personal belongings to make ends meet. Investigators explained that the money funneled through these scams is almost impossible to trace, likely lost for good.
As for “Daisy,” she was likely a fabrication, her images possibly either stolen or created using AI.
The emotional toll on Levine and his family has been profound. His daughters feel their trust has been shattered, a breach that could take much longer to mend than the monetary loss itself, he remarked.
Pig butchering scams meld fake romance with bogus investment schemes, often flashing cryptocurrency as a lure.
According to the real company’s website, scammers use duplicate trading platforms to siphon off victims’ investments. They take weeks or months to build a rapport, inviting the target to invest larger sums until it’s time to pull the rug out from under them.
When victims seek to withdraw their money, they’re met with fake fees and the scammer ultimately vanishes with their cash—never to be seen again.
Interestingly, “Daisy Miller” echoes the name of a classic novella by Henry James, but Levine didn’t make that connection in his account.
Experts emphasize that the scam follows a calculated method, with Brett Johnson, a former cybercriminal, explaining that trust is crucial for these scams to work. “I have to make you trust me before I can defraud you,” he stated.
He elaborated on the gradual process of luring in victims, emphasizing it doesn’t start with demands for money but with establishing a relationship first.
The lesson, he said, is simple: “Don’t send money.”
He warned that no matter how convincing a photo or video call might appear, they can’t be trusted in today’s world of deepfakes.
