Support Claudia's Recovery from a Scam

Hi, my name is Cindy and I am writing this letter to fundraise for Claudia Scarnavack.

Dear Friends and Friends of Claudia,

My dear friend, Claudia has fallen on hard times due to being scammed out of $15,000. She has contacted 11 people and agencies to try and get her money back however, each one turned her down saying there was nothing they could do. In fact, one attorney told her that if she was the scammer they could help her but there was nothing for those who are scammed. I get angry at scammers who prey on innocent people. I too was scammed a few years ago, for much less money, and I remember how scared I was. They scare you into believing them. They are experts on keeping you on the phone, raising their voice and belittling you.

Claudia's case was much more sophisticated than mine. They belittled her to the point of shaking she was so nervous. Nervous because they were yelling at her, yelling at her and accusing her that she made a mistake. They accused her that she did not do what they told her to do and she would be criminally charged if it was not corrected. This was the crux of their scam. As she tried to correct the “supposed” error, they stole her money. Her banking institution had limits on withdrawals and gave her $15,000 of the demanded $20,000. The scammers told her that they would call her the next day for the additional $5,000 that they said she owed them, due to her "error". And they did call, 4 times the next day, however Claudia did not answer because the evening before she realized that she had been scammed and reported it to the police.

She was ashamed, broken, angry and so very, very sad. She called and filed claims with at least 30 agencies, but she didn't tell anyone else. The shame of how she had been scammed was overwhelming for her, to the point of not sleeping or eating for days. Finally, she opened up to her family and started to open up to her friends to talk about it. Talking to try and let go of her shame and to let her friends listen and support her.

This brings me to the reason for this story. Claudia now has to pay back this money with interest because of the account that it was stolen from. She is on Social Security and Medicare and at 73 she continues to work part time to help make ends meet. Now however, making ends meet is very, very difficult, if not impossible.

And the fears continue, not only because of paying this money back but also because of the continual notifications of what has been found on the dark web.

I am starting this GoFundMe account for any of you who have been scammed and know the frustration, fear and embarrassment of falling for it. I am starting this GoFundMe account for any of you who have a desire to help her out, whether you know her or not. We are telling this story in hopes that you or anyone you know will not get scammed. Every little bit can help, so please consider donating. And to those who can't contribute, we would appreciate thoughts and prayers for her.

All transactions are secure and will go directly into an account for Claudia that only she can access.