David Whittington: Social Security Scam Victim

Last month I fell victim to a Social Security scam.

Now, this surprised me because I always considered myself to be pretty “scam resistant.” I thought, I’m sophisticated enough to see through something like that. Well, I was wrong. This was obviously a well thought out operation, and in talking to the local sheriff, I found out that they have seen this scam appearing quite often recently! So this doubles as my own personal public service announcement to alert people to the existence of this scam.

And the result was devistating, clearing out my checking and savings accounts to the tune of $14,000. This, combined with my having been laid off from my job earlier in the summer, means this has not been a good summer for me!

In response to this, a friend of mine suggested opening a GoFundMe account to hopefully recoup what I had lost. I have decided to take him up on his suggestion and enlisted his help in creating this narrative. Below is his message:

I am reaching out to help a very good friend of mine recapture money that was recently taken from him as part of a well-orchestrated scam. I have known my friend for over 40 years and he was my best man in my wedding. The reason for this note is to help him in his time of need. Recently he was scammed out of $14,000 by a skillful duo of people who posed as a Social Security Administrator and as a US Marshall. Although he is aware of these scams, he was recently caught up in a restructuring and was downsized and now needs to search for a new opportunity. Because he is in an active job search, he answers phone calls he normally would not, thinking it is the job placement service, a recruiter, or even an opportunity. The money these scammers took was mostly his severance and was to be used to pay his rent, buy food, and travel for job interviews.

I am asking you to help my friend and take away the huge loss he has suffered.

You can also verify the police filing with the US Marshall’s office with PBSO Case Number 21-084200.

When I received the call from my friend about what happened, my heart sank and I wanted to help in any way I could. I have set a goal for $15,000 and hope to recoup all the funds lost and any amount you can send would help. Also please spread the world of this event so others can contribute and also do not fall for this scam.

Any contribution is appreciated, and please feel free to forward the link below to other people in your network(s). This has been quite a learning experience for me!

Thank you in advance!