It feels like a nightmare I can’t wake out of
Roger’s Story
This story is part of Operation Shamrock’s Survivor Stories series.
Operation Shamrock’s mission is to raise awareness of pig butchering with everyone, everywhere, all the time.
Our goal is to educate the public, mobilize collective action, and disrupt the operations networks of transnational organized criminals to prevent further harm.
Names and other personally identifying information have been changed to protect the victim’s identity. To read other stories or take action against pig butchering scams, visit www.operationshamrock.org.
It started with a simple “investment” of $250. In September 2023, Roger’s father met someone through Facebook who tipped him off to a hot investment opportunity.
Roger immediately knew it was a scam. He’s a web application developer who pointed out to his dad that the website for this purported multi-billion dollar investment company looked like it had been designed by an elementary school child. He refused to help his father set up an account. He pleaded with his dad to not give the site any money. Roger’s father did not listen.
Several months later, the initial $250 investment was reportedly worth half a million dollars. All Roger’s father had to do to withdraw his windfall was to pay a small “compliance fee.” So he paid it. And then he paid another fee. And then another one. And then yet another one. Each time Roger’s father paid a fee, the scammers moved the goal posts and told him another fee was necessary to realize the incredible 2000% return on his small investment. By March of 2024, Roger’s dad had lost $30,000 in six months and the scammers were just getting started.
Roger and his dad went to the bank together and the bank assured them the fees his father was paying were completely fraudulent. Roger took his father to the police and filed a report. Later that day, Roger’s dad was back to interacting with the scammers and preparing to pay the next requested fee. The cycle just kept repeating.
Talking to Roger, you can immediately see the pain that this scam has inflicted on his family. “It feels like a nightmare I can’t wake out of,” said Roger. “When this thing comes up, he just starts growling and turns into a different person.”
Roger has tried everything to get his father to recognize he’s being scammed. To stop participating. To stop engaging with the professional scammers who are bleeding him dry. But nothing works. Banks, police, doctors, and family members have all told Roger’s father that he’s being scammed. Nothing stops him, though. He keeps paying the requested fees.
“It’s like he needs rehab for drug addicts,” said Roger. “You’d think after three, four, five, six times, you’d stop. But his comment just yesterday was that he’d gamble another $4,000 to get a $950,000 withdrawal.” Roger’s father is taking out loans and pawning family jewelry to come up with additional payments so he can claim his reward.
At Operation Shamrock, our mission is to educate the public, mobilize collective action, and disrupt the operations networks of transnational organized criminals to prevent further harm. Roger’s story shows one facet of how disrupting these scams is so difficult. If Roger’s dad was drinking away his family’s accumulated wealth, there are resources Roger could employ. If he was gambling it away on sports, there are national hotlines that could be called. There’s no obvious place to go for help with a family member who’s falling prey to a scammer. If there was, Roger would’ve been there already.
Our financial institutions, law enforcement community, and technology providers don’t have comprehensive systems in place to combat these pernicious scams or collaborate with each other. That’s why it’s important for Roger to speak out, to tell his story. It’s why Operation Shamrock’s mission is to raise awareness of pig butchering with everyone, everywhere, all the time. And it’s why we won’t stop fighting until people like Roger’s father are protected.
