About the Project
sha zhu pan. That roughly translates to “pig butchering scam” in English. It’s an infamous dating cryptocurrency scam based out of China where scammers would pose as hot Asian singles on dating sites, lure lonely people into relationships with them, sway them to invest sums of money into cryptocurrency over stretches of time, and disappear with all the money once they’ve gotten enough. They’re fattening pigs for the slaughter.
___________________________
In August 2021, I barely had enough money to cover one month of rent, I was emotionally fragile from my dad nearly dying at the start of lockdown then being hospitalized for months, and my boyfriend wanted an open relationship because he was too kind to break up with me. The last joy in my life was Han from Grindr, the only place I felt safe to meet other people. Less than a week after my first message, Han and I were texting every hour of the day. He was model hot. He made me feel less lonely. And he was crazy rich. Even though we still hadn’t met in person, I felt so supported by him when I told him about my dreams of being an actor/writer. He even helped me by teaching me the same way he got rich: Cryptocurrency. With his help, I invested $1,200 of my savings into an crypto app he showed me and witnessed it grow to $1,800 within days. This was going to be how I pulled myself out of misery, pursue my dreams, and be with Han.
One night after a disastrous car accident that brought my checking account down to $67, I packed every weed crumb I picked off the coffee table into a bong, grabbed my laptop, and opened YouTube. A title of a recommended video catches my eye: “I Fell For A Dating Crypto Scam.” As I watched this woman confess how Aaron from Tinder swooned her and swayed her into investing thousands into cryptocurrency, my heart hurt for her. Straight people are always scamming each other. She shared how Aaron was part of a known “pig butchering scam” based out of China. And as she talked about Aaron, I realized he sounded like Han. I sped through the video. I looked through my texts. Pulled up reddit. Found more victims. More and more evidence. I slam the laptop. Spotlight freeze as I realize: I’m being scammed by Han from Grindr.
But he didn’t know I knew. That was my only advantage. I pull out my phone and type a message to Han. It was my turn to scam the scammer.
This is the stage version of the story I performed as the featured storyteller for the Under The Rainbow storytelling group based out of Seattle. Pig Fish explores the pain behind healing when it feels like the world is moving on without you, and how when a pig gets fed up, he (me) will finally bite back.
Production Team
