Support for Cristina after being Scammed

I am absolutely overwhelmed by the support shown to me by the great people of Cork and Ireland. You may have heard my story on the Neil Prendeville show on Redfm Tuesday 20th July. My name is Cristina Astete, I am a 30 year old Spanish girl living in Cork City since 2018.

Link to listen back to the Redfm podcast with Neil Prendeville on Spotify, min. 52:04 :

https://open.spotify.com/episode/38Qk4QJSIT8zcQhbJzlwOC?si=97chRn_3SmyvdxATH85DEQ&utm_source=native-share-menu&dl_branch=1 

Link to listen the interview on WeTransfer in case you don't have Spotify:

https://we.tl/t-2sLM94Qhm1?src=dnl

As most of my friends in Cork are Spanish, I had no idea of all of the scams that are happening. Recently, I received a call saying that my PPS number was fraudulent, and someone stole my identity. The scammers claimed to be from the Government and from the Garda institution. They were extremely persuasive, well prepared, and professional team of scammers. They told me that someone stolen my identity and this person had a conviction for money laundering and told me that documents connected to me had been discovered in a car at a crime scene in Dublin. The team of scammers manipulated me into providing my bank details to them and they stole almost €20,000, which was all the money I had saved during my 3 years working hard in Cork.

Anyone that has lived in a foreign Country, away from their family and does not fully understand how Local Government, Law enforcement and social security numbers etc. works will understand why I believed the scammers were genuine. I feel so embarrassed now and so many people have told me about all these PPS, Amazon, AnPost and other scams happening in Ireland that I knew nothing about.

I moved to Cork to give myself a better opportunity in life, to learn English and these scammers have taken everything I have worked hard for. I was saving money to follow my dream of studying illustration, which is my passion. This scam has ruined my life and my dreams in so many levels. The Bank and the Garda are still working on this case, but I know that retrieving any money from the scammers is next to impossible. I cannot thank Redfm and also Sally Hanlon from Support after crimes Services Department enough for their support and linked me with Redfm.

I went on Red Fm to highlight the issue so others wont get caught like I did. The reaction and support I have received since the call this morning has been incredible and I cannot thank the People of Cork enough. It has warmed my heart and made this extremely painful experience a bit easier to deal with. I was encouraged to set up this gofundme page and I would greatly appreciate any donations that can be made.

The help and support means a lot to me during this extremely difficult time.

Thank you so much,

Cristina