Persuasive Schemes for Financial Exploitation: An Anatomy on Sha Zhu Pan (杀猪盘) in China

• In Event: Comparative Cybercrime Behaviors Across Nations of the World

Abstract

Purpose: Sha Zhu Pan (杀猪盘, Pig-Butchering scam) is a new online romance scam targeting mainly Chinese-speaking individuals. While a few studies in Chinese have been able to pay attention to the Sha Zhu Pan scam, no study in English considers the role of scammers' persuasive techniques in shaping the progress of fraudulent discourse. This study attempts to address this gap by analyzing the rhetorical moves of the Sha Zhu Pan scammers.

Design: Victims' testimonials data were collected from Zhihu, a prominent Chinese online forum. This study also uses four complete police reports from law enforcement in China to provide objective evidence from offenders' perspectives. A systematic qualitative approach is conducted to analyze the collected data.

Finding: This study advances the model of criminal persuasion for the Sha Zhu Pan scam developed from Gardner's original persuasive framework. Such a model points out the type of persuasive techniques that the Sha Zhu Pan scammers frequently use.

Implication: The results reflect that the language of this financially and emotionally devastated crime indeed follows premeditated arrangement. Moreover, such evidence can also support the proposal of related theoretical and policy implications for researchers and the government in China and other countries.

Author

• Fangzhou Wang, Georgia State University