Help my Mother recover from a Geek Squad scam
Donation protected
I am making this to help my Mother recover some of the $15,000 that she lost thanks to a Geek Squad email scam.
Just before Christmas she received a fake email that resulted in these crooks taking over her computer and convincing her to hand over gift cards and send wire transfers. The con was that they had accidentally deposited money into her account. They tricked their way into her computer, displayed fake account balances and convinced her to transfer money to a bank in Thailand. They then said if you get us these gift cards we'll give you your money back. She was robbed! They controlled her with fear, telling her to lie to her bank teller as to why she was withdrawing so much money. They may as well have had a gun to her head as far as I'm concerned. Since this involved international banks, nothing can be done. No help from her bank or the FBI. During this time her brother was hospitaized for over a week adding even more stress to her situation. I work in a restaurant which means no masks while people eat so I can't be near her or my high-risk uncle. So she spent Christmas alone, with an empty bank account thanks to the pandemic and these scammers.
She's a 71 year old widow and as her only child, I'm hoping to recover at least half of what she lost. I've worked for a great family-owned restaurant for a long time and we all know what is happening to small businesses, main streets, and the restaurant industry with this pandemic. I'm hoping to just soften the blow since 15,000 dollars is an awful lot to ask for, but I can't fix this for her. Not alone at least! Please share, give what you can, even if it's a dollar! It all helps. Most of all, make sure your parents and grandparents know not to engage with email and phone/ text harassment. Hopefully authorities find a way to end these scams! Hopefully one less person has their savings stolen with no recourse!
Thank you,
Jen
Just before Christmas she received a fake email that resulted in these crooks taking over her computer and convincing her to hand over gift cards and send wire transfers. The con was that they had accidentally deposited money into her account. They tricked their way into her computer, displayed fake account balances and convinced her to transfer money to a bank in Thailand. They then said if you get us these gift cards we'll give you your money back. She was robbed! They controlled her with fear, telling her to lie to her bank teller as to why she was withdrawing so much money. They may as well have had a gun to her head as far as I'm concerned. Since this involved international banks, nothing can be done. No help from her bank or the FBI. During this time her brother was hospitaized for over a week adding even more stress to her situation. I work in a restaurant which means no masks while people eat so I can't be near her or my high-risk uncle. So she spent Christmas alone, with an empty bank account thanks to the pandemic and these scammers.
She's a 71 year old widow and as her only child, I'm hoping to recover at least half of what she lost. I've worked for a great family-owned restaurant for a long time and we all know what is happening to small businesses, main streets, and the restaurant industry with this pandemic. I'm hoping to just soften the blow since 15,000 dollars is an awful lot to ask for, but I can't fix this for her. Not alone at least! Please share, give what you can, even if it's a dollar! It all helps. Most of all, make sure your parents and grandparents know not to engage with email and phone/ text harassment. Hopefully authorities find a way to end these scams! Hopefully one less person has their savings stolen with no recourse!
Thank you,
Jen
Organizer
Jennifer Volbrecht
Organizer
Royal Oak, MI