Show God's Love to Young Family Robbed Penniless

           It was a call from the police she never expected, and in the blink of an eye, Ann Weaver's serene morning routine of taking care of her two young daughters, was mercilessly interrupted. 

           It was not unusual to receive phone calls from the local police in Beijing, as it was more convenient for asking questions, and of course, because people were trying to keep to themselves because of COVID-19.

           This call, however, took a dark turn very fast. Ann was informed through the call that someone had hacked her ID and was using her information in a money laundering scheme, totaling 2.6 million RMB ($406,554). The police showed her a color photo of her Chinese ID card, and a photo of a warrant for her arrest for being a potential ringleader, solidifying any doubts Ann might have had about the legitimacy and urgency of this phone call.

            Ann was in tears and did her best to cooperate, as they threatened many times to take her away from her two year old and her newborn baby, and place her under arrest. Almost four exhausting hours of interrogation later, they finally claimed to believe her innocence, and promised to cancel the warrant. Of course, due to the stolen identity problem, they asked for her social media information, and her bank information so they could secure it from further breaches. They even had her install a remote access app on her phone so they could supposedly scan for traces of the hackers. Ann by this point was relieved to be finally getting help and trusted all that to the “police.” They claimed to have locked her bank account under the guise of checking for breaches, then made her give a testimony of innocence via video call.

            When the grueling interrogation was finally over, Ann and her mother-in-law went to the local police station, asking if there really was a warrant for her arrest. Of course, the police denied that, and suddenly, the horror of what just happened dawned on the young mother. She had been scammed! They quickly checked her bank account, and it was completely emptied. In addition, instant loans had been approved in her name in her bank, and two other accounts, totaling 77,000 RMB, with their total losses being 81,000 RMB ($12,040 and $12,665, respectably). With a sinking feeling, she realized her family was in danger. They had her on video call, so they knew what she looked like. They had her ID card information. They knew where she lived. And worst of all, they pocketed her husband Brandon’s hard-earned finances.

            The local police were angry that people would impersonate them to rob innocent victims but did not sound hopeful about recovering their money. They were informed that scammers often lived in southeast Asia and would send her money to several different bank accounts with fake names, withdraw the money, then close the accounts, leaving their evil work untraceable.

            Ann was sent to the fraud police, but even those more specialized forces gave her a 1% chance of recovering her funds. The bank they used did not insure their money, and neither the bank nor Wechat were willing to cancel the loans taken out in her name. Those companies may have believed she was scammed, but nobody was willing to bear the brunt of that financial burden. She was told that people come every day with stories like hers, and there is almost nothing that they could do to help her. She was just a number in their system.


            That is why this Gofundme has been started. At this point, there is no way to recover the money stolen, or cancel the debts. Brandon, and his wife Ann have been hit hard financially by COVID, and this amount of debt will be a crushing blow that will take them years to recover from, unless we can band together to help them! Ann is dealing with a huge amount of shame and fear about this, even though the scammers were professional and could easily fool someone. They had an official looking website, spoke with the unmistakable lingo of the police force, had her talk to multiple people in different departments, and verified they had access to her Chinese ID. In addition, Ann’s parents do nothing but mock her as being stupid, shaming her multiple times a day, and will not lift a finger to help financially, or in any way. Brandon has been loving and supportive of her during this crisis, and is working hard to secure their situation, changing phone numbers and passwords, but this financial burden will be very tough for them to handle. They need to start making payments very soon for those fraudulent debts or they will begin to accrue interest. 


            So, in closing, we are asking for your help to ease the suffering of just one of the millions of innocent people who are scammed every day. Brandon and Ann are Christians and try their best to share the good news of Jesus in their day-to-day work and they certainly do not deserve to be cruelly robbed like this. Ann’s family, who are unbelievers who tease and mock her constantly, need an amazing testimony of love and concern from fellow believers in this situation. Let’s show the world that when Satan’s minions attack God’s children in the most heartless ways, that God can turn it into a praise testimony of His provision and care for His own!