Internet criminals using the "pig butchering" scam are increasingly turning to fraudulent applications in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector to steal funds. This type of fraud involves gradually building online relationships with the victim, often romantic or platonic, before convincing them to invest in a business or scheme, which usually ends in theft of funds.

In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice confiscated $9 million stolen through such a scheme. Antivirus company Sophos, in its report, notes that the pig butchering scam is becoming one of the fastest-growing segments of online fraud, especially in connection with cryptocurrency investments.

Sophos threat researcher Sean Gallagher points out that criminals are now using fake DeFi platforms to siphon funds from Web3 users' wallets, moving away from traditional social engineering methods. These new DeFi scams do not require victims to install individual mobile applications but use trusted applications, requiring victims to load web pages within the app.

The "DeFi Smart Savings" scam, identified by Sophos, operates on 300 different domains. In January 2024, the MailerLite email marketing company's system was hacked, resulting in hackers sending out phishing emails with wallet-stealing software, stealing about $3.3 million from subscribers.