Help Nancy after Gift Card Scam

Hi, our mother, Nancy, was recently the victim of a gift card scam. Nancy lives in a retirement community in the Hudson Valley, surviving off social security and a small pension. She's struggled in the past with difficulties suffering from severe depression, anxiety, and emphysema.

Unfortunately, on February 19 and 20th, Nancy was the target of a gift scam where she lost more than 11,000 dollars. These scammers often target older people who are not tech savvy, coercing them to deplete their life savings in elaborate schemes that they think are beneficial to protecting their money. Pretending to be a tech professional at Microsoft, this scammer instructed Nancy via phone to purchase gift cards in person at several retail locations, including a bitcoin ATM. Paralyzed that her bank account, phone and computer would be further hacked, she complied with the scammer, draining nearly all of her bank account.

She lost $3,500 worth in Target gift cards, $4,000 at Macy's, and $3,800 in bitcoin. We were thankfully able to recover the $4000 from Macy's while the Bitcoin ATM has offered nothing. Target has only given the option to have a $5 gift card instead of any actual reimbursement.

We appreciate any help and thank you immensely for your contribution. If you are not capable of donating, we'd be grateful if you could share this with others and continue informing senior citizens that these scams are occurring.

Thank you