If you thought bacon was the only thing getting butchered these days, think again—scammers are serving up your savings instead.
In this publication, we're uncovering a cyber scam network so large and damaging, it triggered U.S. Treasury sanctions and FBI intervention. Here’s what you need to know—and how to protect yourself.
A Philippines-based tech company, Funnull Technology Inc., has been sanctioned for enabling online “pig butchering” scams that stole over $200 million from U.S. victims alone.
How It Works:
-
The Romance or Investment Hook:
Scammers, often posing as love interests or investment gurus, build trust with victims over time through text, chat, or social media. -
The Fake Website Trap:
Once the victim is emotionally invested, they’re directed to what looks like a legitimate cryptocurrency or investment platform. -
The Illusion of Profit:
The fake platform shows massive, fake gains, convincing victims to invest more and more—sometimes their entire savings. -
The Exit:
When victims try to withdraw funds or stop investing, the scammer disappears—along with every cent.
Funnull Technology is the shadowy infrastructure behind many of these fake websites, selling bulk IP addresses, domain names, and website templates to cybercriminals. The scammer changes site names and hosts faster than authorities can shut them down.
Who’s Targeted:
- Everyday Americans, especially retirees and working professionals looking for investment opportunities or connection
- Social media users, where scammers fish for victims
- Crypto-curious individuals, interested in high returns without realizing they’re entering a rigged game
Real-Life Example:
In a Treasury-coordinated investigation, it was revealed that Funnull provided infrastructure for thousands of pig butchering websites. Victims averaged losses of over $150,000 each. One notable case exposed how scammers used romance-themed text exchanges to lead individuals to these fake investment platforms—only to leave them financially devastated.
Liu Lizhi, the Funnull administrator, was found assigning domains to cybercriminals using internal spreadsheets and purchasing code libraries that were later maliciously altered to redirect users from real websites to scam platforms.
Why You Should Care:
These scams aren’t just clever—they’re engineered to manipulate emotions. Victims often lose not only money, but trust, dignity, and peace of mind. Some even fall into debt, thinking they’re investing for their future.
Funnull’s role amplified the damage by helping criminals scale these attacks globally, making it easier to impersonate trustworthy brands and harder to trace their online footprints.
How to Protect Yourself:
• Never trust investment offers from strangers online, no matter how friendly or familiar they seem.
• Check URLs carefully—look for odd spelling, extra characters, or domain names you don’t recognize.
• Verify investment platforms independently, not through links sent by a “friend” or “partner.”
• Use credit cards, not debit, when paying online—they offer stronger fraud protection.
• Report suspicious sites or messages to the FBI’s IC3: ic3.gov
Quick Tips & Updates:
Quick Tip #1: Did you know? Scammers can run hundreds of scam websites off one server using “domain generation algorithms” (DGAs) to constantly switch names.
Pro Tip: If someone tells you not to tell anyone else about a “great investment opportunity,” that’s your red flag—real investors want transparency, not secrecy.
Update: The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned Funnull and its administrator. Their assets in the U.S. are frozen, and U.S. companies are prohibited from working with them. The FBI has released a cybersecurity advisory to help identify infrastructure connected to these scams.
Stay safe, stay informed.
Keywords:
• Pig Butchering Scam – A long-game investment fraud where scammers build trust with victims before stealing large sums.
• Funnull Technology Inc. – A Philippines-based company sanctioned for supporting scam websites and infrastructure.
• Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) – A tool used by scammers to generate large numbers of domain names to avoid detection.
• Sanctions – Legal measures that block entities from doing business due to threats to national security or economic stability.
• OFAC – The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces economic and trade sanctions.
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