The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued three individuals and five companies for allegedly defrauding investors through a "slaughter pig" scam that involved tricking victims into investing in fake crypto platforms after building trust on social media. This is the first time the SEC has taken legal action against this type of cryptocurrency scam and is intended to remind the public to be vigilant and avoid falling for social media-based investment fraud. This year, investors have lost a record $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency scams, with the vast majority coming from these types of investment scams.

Key Points

- The SEC has filed a lawsuit against three individuals and five companies for allegedly operating a "slaughter pig" investment scam.

- These scams build trust through social media and then trick victims into investing in fake crypto platforms.

- This is the first time the SEC has taken legal action against a cryptocurrency "slaughter pig" scam.

- The SEC reminds the public to be wary of investment opportunities promoted by strangers on social media to avoid being scammed.

- Participants lured investors by pretending to be financial professionals on WhatsApp.

- Another scam, CoinW6, swindled $2.2 million by luring investors with pretending to be romantic relationships.

- According to an FBI report, investors lost a record $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency scams in the past year.