Help Carson Recover Stolen Funds

My dear friend Carson is a beloved friend, community member, and incredibly generous human. Carson is in the last two months of a Masters program in Counseling with a specialization in Addictions at Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Carson has worked incredibly hard over the past three years to get to graduation, subbing several days per week, cleaning air bnbs, babysitting and now driving over 2.5 hours per day round trip to their internship at a nonprofit residential addiction treatment center 3 days a week. With prices of gas, food, and other basic items increasing, Carson persevered to make this situation work for them, all while saving for their dream of having a child in the near future. Carson has been actively trying to get pregnant for the last two years and suffered a devastating miscarriage in March 2022.

 

This past week, Carson received a phone notification from their bank (USAA) stating that an amount of $9,846.02 had been withdrawn from their account. They immediately called the bank to inquire about this withdrawal that wasn’t authorized. While Carson was making this call, they received a phone call from the bank’s same number, caller ID reading USAA. They remained on the phone for an hour and a half, providing personal details with the belief that the person on the line was a representative from the bank. Carson “secured” their account with this person, “canceled” the wire transfer, and ordered a new debit card.

 

After this call, Carson waited for days for their new debit card to arrive. When it didn’t, they checked their bank account and two wire transfers for $9,846.02, totaling almost $20,000, had been withdrawn from their savings account on June 3. This was unauthorized and an absolutely devastating financial blow. Carson has been dealing with their bank, law enforcement, and investigative authorities to try and recover these funds. As we learned, this is a common scam known as “money muling,” where scammers retrieve personal details, remove money from an individual account, and transfer that money to several international accounts, making the money untraceable and unretrievable.

 

This event has been absolutely devastating for Carson. This money was saved for their current living expenses, pregnancy, and immediate future. Carson is afraid to leave the house or spend any money and this is significantly impacting their mental health. I am asking for financial support to help them pay their mortgage, pay for food and groceries, and cover the cost of their basic needs.

 

Any donation you could provide will help Carson restore the devastating financial losses they have experienced and help them get back on their feet. Even if you don’t know Carson, your support would mean a great deal to them in restoring their faith in the people around them. Carson has devoted their life to helping others. They need your support to continue doing the work that feeds them, helping the community around them.

 

Our wish is that we will, together, raise the money Carson lost to the “baddies”, and at the same time, raise awareness of this very real and devilish practice of preying on unsuspecting people through online fraud.