I received an email from supposedly Geek Squad explaining that my two year renewal for Internet protection, was up, they had withdrawn $239.99 ) The email showed $$239.9)and there was a number to call if I wanted to cancel this service and request a refund. I called to do so and the gentleman guided me through the steps so that on my laptop I could request the refund. I had to type in my name, address, and the amount I was requesting as a refund. As I was typing $240.00, since the gentleman told me to type $240.00, I typed the decimal point it and it wouldn’t take. I tried to backspace but it wouldn’t. So, it showed the amount I wanted refunded as $24,000 instead of $240. I hadn’t realized they had taken control of my computer and it was them who had put in the extra zero. He told me to look at my bank account on my laptop and it showed the deposit of $24,000 from Geek Squad. I needed to return these funds to them. He instructed me to go to the bank and withdraw this money in cash from my account since supposedly they had deposited this amount into my bank account and I had seen my bank statement on my laptop. John Carlos and I rushed to the bank and withdrew the funds. He told us to deposit $23,700 because we had had to go to the bank . When we came back to the car after withdrawing the money, he told us what special bitcoin ATM to go to to send the funds to them. I questioned if there wasn’t an account that we could just send these funds to and he gave us an explanation that sounded legitimate as well. He told us to deposit $23,700 because we had had to go to the bank. We went to where the special bitcoin ATM was located that the man told us to go to and I covered John Carlos’ side with my body as he deposited $23,700 in cash bill by bill into the bitcoin ATM. When we got home, the gentleman told me to look at my online account, and I saw that the funds had been deposited in my account again. He said his system and my laptop system had not been unsynchronized and the money was deposited in my account again. I could see this on my online bank account on my laptop. Again, I did not know they had taken control of my laptop. So, we went to a different bank and withdrew $22,700 which is how much he told us to withdraw this time because of all the driving John Carlos was having to do. We had to rush to a branch in Charlotte and made it there right at 5 o’clock when they closed. It was raining, there was a lot of traffic, the man was talking to us, and John Carlos had maps on his phone for directions to the bank. The man said we had to withdraw the money by the end of the business day. We went to the location of a different bitcoin ATM and John Carlos deposited the $22,700. There was a police officer who had walked into the convenience store after a little while and the officer stood with us part of the time while John Carlos, again, deposited $50 and $100 bills into the bitcoin ATM, one bill at a time. John Carlos and I came home. The man who had been on the line all this time told us that everything was OK, but that he would call us in the morning to assure us. In the morning, another gentleman called me and stated that the person I had spoken with previously had been suspended because he had not unsynchronized their system and my laptop system before the end of the business day and now my online banking was showing that $46,400 total had been deposited into my account by Geek Squad. We had to go back to the bank, which was the only one open in this area on a Saturday and withdraw $23,200 to return to Geek Squad. We were frustrated and exhausted, and John Carlos told this man that the previous man we had been dealing with had said that this had been taken care of. He had assured us that everything was OK and that if it wasn’t, we could keep the funds. The man that called us in the morning said they were a business that kept its word and that we could keep $23,200 but had to return the other half. So, we went to the bank which only had $10,000 in cash, but the man told us to get as much as we could out. We got to the bank and I was walking towards the door when I remembered that I didn’t have my debit card because John Carlos had taken it out of my purse so I wouldn’t use it or do anything with my bank account or touch my computer as the previous man we had spoken with told us to not do. God works in mysterious ways. Had I had my debit card. I could have withdrawn another $10,000 and sent that to them. We were in the car in the bank parking lot and John Carlos checked online to see if Geek Squad uses bitcoin for deposits and the Internet stated that it doesn’t. John Carlos told the man on the line that they were scammers and we hung up. They continued to call but we didn’t answer.

This awful situation has affected Mom. It’s on her mind and she asks about it. John Carlos has cried. I’ve cried and this just stays on my mind. It’s not easy to lose $46,400 and we were being honest and, as Christians, trying to return what didn’t belong to us supposedly.

I know it’s a large amount and we may never be able to recover it but if anyone finds it in his or her heart to make a donation so we can recover at least part of what we lost, we would be extremely grateful. We wouldn’t be able to repay you but the reward comes from the Lord. Thank you for being a blessing to our family in such a difficult time.