<div>Hey all,
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<div>My name is Keir and I am a friend of Soumi's.
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<div>Soumi and I first met in a writer's group. Neither of us knew many other desi writers at the time, so finding each other meant so much! After we hit it off, she became one of the most important people in my publishing journey. Soumi supported me through my writing woes as my critique partner and later, when I became a literary agent, Soumi stuck by me through all my doubts and every moment of hardship as I chipped away at an industry that didn't seem to want queer, brown kids like me. She is an invaluable part of my life and has been a true friend through thick and thin.
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<div>When Soumi reached out about her situation, it was already dire, but there was no way for her to use GFM as she is an Indian in Korea right now and unable to meet the GFM requirements to start her own (GFM is not available in South Korea or India). Thus, I am doing this on her behalf.
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<div>Though the funds raised here will be received by me (to meet the GFM requirements), Soumi will receive them immediately via wire transfer directly to her bank account in Korea. I will post receipts/updates every time we transfer.
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<div>That's it from me, but I hope you can spare some more time to hear from Soumi. <strong>Below is Soumi's message:</strong>
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<div>"Hi, my name is Soumi Roy, and I am a low-income recent PhD graduate and an author. I’ve been going back and forth for days about whether or not to post this. But after everything that’s happened, I’ve realized that survival has to come before pride.
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/90153353_1744206236372514_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
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<div>I recently fell victim to a “pig-butchering” scam, a type of long-con that takes advantage of emotionally vulnerable people, that drained my entire life savings of <strong>54.5 million KRW</strong> (~US$37,000). I trusted the wrong person at a time when I was trying to send the money home to my dependent, elderly parents and was trying to move out of my one room apartment, where the ceiling is leaking and affecting my health.
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/90153353_174408158933481_r." width="100%" />
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<div>As someone who is neurodivergent (ADHD, anxiety, and depression) and an immigrant living in Korea with limited support, I was extremely vulnerable to emotional grooming. I don’t have family here, and my circle of friends is small. I just wanted to find a way to send money to support my family back home, and live a stable life.
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<div>Now I’m trying to survive for the sake of myself and my elderly parents--my father 79, my mother 72, both retired. We don’t have a financial safety net. My mother has severe degenerative joint disease with spinal spondylitis and is preparing for a knee transplant (~6 lakh INR or US$7,000). If anything were to happen to them—or even to me—<strong>I don’t even have money to fly home</strong> to look after my parents. I don’t even have enough to afford food, and because I haven’t been able to pay for my medication, I’ve been struggling with insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Without my antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds, I haven’t been able to sleep at all.<strong> My health issues including GERD </strong>are worsening, but I’ve had to skip treatment because of money.
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<div>I was originally planning to use some of that money to move to a different apartment. I have been living in a tiny one bedroom apartment in Seoul for the past 7 years. Because it’s on the top floor, water has been leaking through the ceiling and directly onto my bed since the first snow in November. It’s now April, and the leak continues with the spring rain. I’ve been sleeping in damp conditions for months, and it’s starting to affect my health. I’ve developed chest tightness and frequent coughing, and I’m constantly exhausted. I can’t imagine what the situation will be once it’s truly the rainy season as Seoul experiences heavy rainfall and humidity. With the rising price in real estate in Seoul, if I move out now, the deposit (Jeonse) will vary from $13,500 (20 million KRW) to $20,000 (30 million KRW)for a monthly rent of $750 to $550. I do not have that kind of money to afford either, thus a safe house for myself.
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<div>It has been three weeks since I filed the police report, but they are reluctant to deal with a foreigner. They failed to track down the bank account owner where I transferred the money to or even freeze the account. I failed to get any help from any NGO/government organization here. I was told by the police that financial recovery is impossible and they can only try to catch the culprit. These operations are designed to disappear once they’ve drained enough victims.
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<div>So now, I am left with nothing.
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<div>I am also consulting lawyers to expedite the case and sue the criminal, but no one is willing to work without a retainer fee, and the retainer fee for most lawyers starts at 5.5 million won (~US$3750). It’s physically impossible for me to arrange that kind of money. If you know of any organizations in Seoul that can support Indian foreign students like me or any lawyers willing to work pro bono, please put me in touch with them.
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<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/90153353_1744081648170368_r." width="100%" />
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<div>This fundraising is not just for survival. <strong>Here are my basic needs</strong>:
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<div>Rent &amp; Utilities (~3 months, US$550 each): US$1,650
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<div>Food (3 months): US$1,500
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<div>Medical needs (3 months, including my ADHD, depression and anxiety med): US$360
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<div>GERD test (endoscopy): starts at US$700
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<div>Transportation (3 months): US$150
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<div>Safe housing deposit (minimum): US$13,500
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<div>My mother’s knee replacement: US$7,000
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<div>Flight fare to India from Korea: US$1,000
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<div>Lawyer help: starts from US$3,750
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<div>A total of US$29,610
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<div>I likely won't be able to recover the money so this is my only hope for getting my life back on track. If you are able to chip in a little to support me, thank you so much. Even the smallest donations can make a huge difference in my life right now. If you can’t donate, <strong>please share my story</strong>; that would mean the world to me.
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<div>With sincerity and strength,
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<div>Soumi"
</div>

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Help Soumi survive after she lost her life savings to a scam

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

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English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

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Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

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Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

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Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

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Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

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Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

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Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

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Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

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challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

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CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Soumi survive after she lost her life savings to a scam

Still $22,132 to go. Help us build momentum.