Help David Siegal Rebuild After Scam

Dear Reader,

My name is David Siegal. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my story and any contribution would be a massive help for me.

They say when it rains, it pours, and I am not too proud to say when I could use some help! Despite my best efforts, I have recently run into a string of bad luck, and find myself on hard times, and am fighting my hardest to not lose the progress I have fought so hard to make over the last 10-15 years.

I am a member of the Autism Spectrum community but never let that stop me from working hard to achieve my dreams. Nine years ago, after going through unemployment and underemployment at times from the previous six years, I joined SAP, an international technology company, as a member of their operations teams.

I have spent the last 9 years, proudly dedicated to supporting SAP’s mission, enjoying a progressive career path.

Unfortunately, my string of bad luck started when I was notified that I was part of the recent restructuring and that my job was being eliminated and my last day will be in July 2024.

While not one to dwell, as I dealt with the emotions of that challenge and found myself struggling with the reality of my situation, I fell victim to a criminal scam.

A scammer was a very smooth operator, claiming that the sheriff's office wanted me for missing jury duty, and was threatening me with large fines and late fee penalties if I did not pay immediately. I had been out of town for the last several weeks and had not been checking my mail to confirm if I had in fact missed something. I found myself in a panic, being currently out of town and unsure of the situation when I received the call. This turned out to be a crypto scam that ultimately wiped out almost all of my financial savings, $4,500 in total.

I was scared and felt coerced to pay immediately and ultimately gave $4,000 in bitcoin, plus $500 in Cash App. Since the $4,000 is in bitcoin and I was coerced to do a cash withdrawal from the bank, I cannot recover that money. There's a slightly better chance that I can recover the $500, but still no guarantee. Keep in mind that I had never had a previous issue with a sheriff's department, so I was caught off guard with the phone call. Plus, it was an unidentified number.

I genuinely thought that the authorities wanted me and when I asked to speak to another person to assist me, I was instructed not to and threatened with more fines. I have since learned that if someone is wanted by the authorities, they'll never notify them by phone.

The combination of these two unfortunate events have been very rough mentally and emotionally for me to deal with and left me in a difficult financial situation.

While my goal is to continue to work hard and make it successfully on my own, I find myself in a tough spot and am turning to my friends and my community for support. I understand it is difficult times and truly appreciate any and all help that you can offer!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking your time to read my message and share in my journey towards chasing my dreams!

Your friend, David Siegal