Recoup Wedding Funds

You may have heard the story - but I will tell it again. I was sitting at a bakery with a dear friend and a man came up and asked to borrow my phone. He said he needed to call his mom and his phone was dead. I am always happy to help if I am able, so I thought nothing of it and gave him my phone. A few minutes later he said that he was having trouble with the incorrect number, that he needed to run to his car, which we could see from where we were sitting, and even set down his wallet on the table to let us know he would be right back. I said ok. Just a few minutes later he came back, was very appreciative and went on his way. About an hour later at home I opened up my Venmo App to send money to a friend. I was completely surprised to see that the $1430 that had been in my account earlier that morning was gone. The balance read $0. I called Venmo becuase at first it had not dawned on me what happened. After a while they asked if I had lost my phone. And I said no, it's been in my possession.....and then bam! I recalled the event of this morning and became truly nauseous. The innocent man that I had wanted to help had completely drained me.  And literally in front of my eyes. This is disturbing and heartbreaking and embarrassing.  Venmo will do nothing about this. I did file a police report - and found out this crime was a felony.  Unfortunately there were no cameras inside or outside of the establishment. My friend and I canvased the area.

I was saving this money for my wedding dress and am truly devastated. It is not easy for me to ask for help, but so many people have suggested I do this, and so here I am humbly asking for any bit of help to recoup the money that was lost. Weddings are so incredibly expensive and we haven't been sure how we were going to pull it off in the first place, and now this. If you cannot help financially, please pray for the man that did this. He is obviously not well. Also be sure to put security on your apps - they come automatically unsecured - and one has to change the settings, which seems backwards. If you read all of this, thank you for your support, We love you!