scam

I am a victim of scam.
I am embarrest and feel like a fool.
the scammers prey on gulible people they had asked to me to go to the bank and withdraw$31K to pay the people who were involved with child pornography. Thankfully the bank was closed. SO they changed gears for me to go to home depot and purchase giftcards of $2000 a piece I only could only purchase 3 so I paid $6,000 and never followed through with the transaction My hubby came home and was furious for me for falling for this scam.He yelled into the phone that he was going slit his throat and kill him.
If he ever got a hold of him.
i don't even know what I was to do with these gift cards.
WE got the home depot fraud department involved, they will try to get our money back it sounds promising

I am an idiot.
bizi

Wow. I’m sorry that happened to you! Glad the bank was closed!

I'm so sorry I'm glad it wasn't more. Hopefully home Depot can help.

Don't be hard on yourself. This happens all the time in so many different ways. I gave some phishing website my phone password a few weeks ago but realized my mistake quickly and changed all my passwords. Nothing happened.

I hope the fraud department is able to help.

Sorry I should have put a trigger warning on this thread.

I am so sorry this happened to you, Bizi. I also fell for a scam to the tune of $300 in gift cards. The scammers posed as a friend who asked for help via email. They said it was for their niece's birthday, who was dying of liver cancer. I was eager to help and hypomanic and rushed into action.

I felt pretty silly when i found out it was a scam too. Don't be too hard on yourself, it's natural to want to help, and shows we have good hearts. Let's be mad at the fraudsters, who are heartless. It only takes one time, now i am much more careful about fraud and you will be too.

I also got scammed out of $500 in my bank account. Had to close it and open a new one plus change ids and passwords. The bank replaced the money but it took around 2 months.

Home depot made it sound like We would get the money back
....just need to be patient.
thanks for your support! 6K is alot to lose.
sigh
bizi

Hi bizi, I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m not sure how old you are, but I was reading an online article from the US Department of Justice that included the following:

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed 7 days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

Here is the original article I was reading: Office of Public Affairs | Leader of $4M International Telemarketing Scheme Convicted | United States Department of Justice

Best of luck to you; you are not alone.