Scammed out of $1500 HELP!!!

[Marshae04 11]

About a month ago I zelled $1500 to retain a lawyer this person has my case number my husbands passport everything pertaining to our case. Come to find out this person wasn't a lawyer they lied and stole my money and has since ghosted me.  I have the option to dispute the payment through my bank and get my money back, but I'm afraid that this person will try and retaliate and log back into my case and possible delete information to mess up and prolong our process which we've been waiting a year and a half for our interview. Can anyone give me any advice on how to handle this situation? I've tried calling the USCIS, but they are no longer taking any calls......and please don't judge me or say anything negative on my status If you can't give me any positive input then please politely keep scrolling with all due respect.......Thank you 

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

no judgement 

you were scammed and sorry this has happened to u

 

1.  Get your money back from the bank/ usually u only have a month to dispute transactions

2.  Close that account and open a new one, /as the scammer may have your banking info

3.  Write to the address of the office where your case is located (or NVC) and 

   cite the case # ,  both names and both your dates of birth

   tell the office what has happened

    the person can't delete your info with  but could say u wanted to cancel it

    i doubt this person wants his email ID or any info about him to be seen so u may be worrying for nothing

 

[beloved_dingo 1,976]

25 minutes ago, Marshae04 said:

About a month ago I zelled $1500 to retain a lawyer this person has my case number my husbands passport everything pertaining to our case. Come to find out this person wasn't a lawyer they lied and stole my money and has since ghosted me.  I have the option to dispute the payment through my bank and get my money back, but I'm afraid that this person will try and retaliate and log back into my case and possible delete information to mess up and prolong our process which we've been waiting a year and a half for our interview. Can anyone give me any advice on how to handle this situation? I've tried calling the USCIS, but they are no longer taking any calls......and please don't judge me or say anything negative on my status If you can't give me any positive input then please politely keep scrolling with all due respect.......Thank you 

Have you contacted the police?

 

Does this person have your husband's ACTUAL passport? If so, most countries have an option to report a lost/stolen passport. 

[Marshae04 11]

1 minute ago, beloved_dingo said:

Have you contacted the police?

 

Does this person have your husband's ACTUAL passport? If so, most countries have an option to report a lost/stolen passport. 

They have a copy of it not the actually passport and No I did not contact the police I don't think it much they can do about it to be honest.  Even if I file a report the most they would do is have the paper on file. People scam people everyday to them that's not a major crime

[Marshae04 11]

4 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

no judgement 

you were scammed and sorry this has happened to u

 

1.  Get your money back from the bank/ usually u only have a month to dispute transactions

2.  Close that account and open a new one, /as the scammer may have your banking info

3.  Write to the address of the office where your case is located (or NVC) and 

   cite the case # ,  both names and both your dates of birth

   tell the office what has happened

    the person can't delete your info with  but could say u wanted to cancel it

    i doubt this person wants his email ID or any info about him to be seen so u may be worrying for nothing

 

Thank you for your input I hadn't thought about writing the NVC, but I will send an email to them asap.  I don't think the person would care they are a scammer it's probably all fake anyways their email etc. You are right about the bank I think it's a small timeframe that I can file a dispute to get my money back but I'll still try 

[beloved_dingo 1,976]

16 minutes ago, Marshae04 said:

They have a copy of it not the actually passport and No I did not contact the police I don't think it much they can do about it to be honest.  Even if I file a report the most they would do is have the paper on file. People scam people everyday to them that's not a major crime

I would still suggest making a police report and giving them all the info you have on the person. Having a report made can potentially help with getting your money back from the back if they give you any problems. Some banks can be difficult about money that someone has willingly sent to someone, even if it turned out to be a scam. $1500 is not a small amount of money - enough to be charged a felony. And there's always a chance it actually helps stop this person from scamming someone else. 

[Gary Rich 267]

11 minutes ago, Marshae04 said:

Thank you for your input I hadn't thought about writing the NVC, but I will send an email to them asap.  I don't think the person would care they are a scammer it's probably all fake anyways their email etc. You are right about the bank I think it's a small timeframe that I can file a dispute to get my money back but I'll still try 

I would over night a letter fast as possible to NVC.. or the location of you case ( Fed-ex or UPS or USPS  cost around $30) also as mention above inform the police so you can have a case number to show to your bank ( cause they will ask you did you report it ) also here is a link with information about your husband passport  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/lost-stolen.html

[Marshae04 11]

4 minutes ago, Gary Rich said:

I would over night a letter fast as possible to NVC.. or the location of you case ( Fed-ex or UPS or USPS  cost around $30) also as mention above inform the police so you can have a case number to show to your bank ( cause they will ask you did you report it ) also here is a link with information about your husband passport  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/lost-stolen.html

 

4 minutes ago, Gary Rich said:

I would over night a letter fast as possible to NVC.. or the location of you case ( Fed-ex or UPS or USPS  cost around $30) also as mention above inform the police so you can have a case number to show to your bank ( cause they will ask you did you report it ) also here is a link with information about your husband passport  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/lost-stolen.html

Thank you!!

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

Was this scammer suppose to be a Nigerian lawyer?

just to let u  all know 

a Nigerian lawyer, even if legit, can't help a US visa case 

 

I ask as u say  " People scam people everyday to them that's not a major crime"

 

it is a crime here and a police report should be done -no matter which country this person is in

 

For Nigeria the country is trying to cut down on scammers:

 

How do I file a complaint against a scammer in Nigeria?

 

scam @ efccnigeria.org & info @ efccnigeria.org or the Nigerian Police Force with website at www.nigeriapolice.org and email webmaster @ nigeriapolice.org are the appropriate authorities mandated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, to deal with such issues. You may forward your e-mail to them for prompt action.

Edited June 9, 2022 by JeanneAdil

[Timona 4,207]

You won't get money back from Zelle. They even state that themselves. 

 

Sorry. 

Was this a Nigerian lawyer? How'd you find out he isn't a lawyer as he'd stated?

[African Zealot 1,455]

That money is gone. You’re not getting it back unfortunately l

 

Quote

 

A scam is when you knowingly send money to someone you do not know or trust. For example, someone tricked or persuaded you into sending the money, or promised that you would receive something in return that they did not provide. While we are unable to assist with getting your money back, it is important to us that users have the ability to report this experience. We will report the information you provide to the recipient’s bank or credit union to help prevent anyone else from having the same experience. To report the user, please complete the fields.

 

https://www.zellepay.com/support/report-scam

 

No harm trying however just be aware. I’d focus on securing your information/petition with NVC.  

[Adventine 3,196]

Even more important than the money, the scammer stole your personal information.

 

If you haven't already, you need to change the login info of everything you remember sending to the scammer: email, bank info, etc. If you included your SSN, you need to freeze your credit because the scammer has everything they need to impersonate you and take out loans in your name.

[beloved_dingo 1,976]

To clarify, you will not get money back from Zelle but it is possible that you can get money back through your bank that the Zelle account is tied to. Reach out to your bank and see if they are willing to work with you. A friend of mine sent a Zelle payment that ended up being a scam and her bank (Truist) refunded the money about 10 days after she went to the bank to report it. I think she had to fill out a form. Her payment was only $125 so YMMV.

[mam521 2,062]

50 minutes ago, Adventine said:

Even more important than the money, the scammer stole your personal information.

 

If you haven't already, you need to change the login info of everything you remember sending to the scammer: email, bank info, etc. If you included your SSN, you need to freeze your credit because the scammer has everything they need to impersonate you and take out loans in your name.

This was my concern.  The scammer has the biographic passport page information.  Who knows what they're using that for.  

[Ontarkie 14,221]

~~Moved to General Immigration Discussion, from IR1/CR1 Progress Reports. - the advice form members can also help others in different processes to avoid similar scams.~~