Hello, and thank you for reading, My name is Ken. I am a disabled Vietnam Veteran and dealing with many health issues, both mental & physical, related to the war. My wife’s name is Karen, and she’s having total hip replacement surgery next month. We’re both retired, and in our 70s. This week, we were scammed out of all our savings. Twelve days ago, Karen was on her Mac laptop and her screen locked up warning her that her computer was compromised. The warning gave a 1-800 number for Apple to report this problem. I called and reported the problem to a technician who provided his name, Apple Employee ID number, a case number for future reference, and a code word. He told us our laptops and cell phones had been hacked, but had new security blocks on them now to prevent further identity theft. He said I would be hearing from our bank security person and I did within 10 minutes. The "bank security" person said he reported our situation to the FTC. (The FTC does indeed handle identity theft.) I then followed bank security instructions to move money out of our savings account, to protect it from theft. Both individuals called me daily each morning and afternoon to advise us of the status of our accounts and the number of hackers that were removed overnight. After the 8th day, with our money in ¨transit,¨ all phone calls stopped. I tried calling them but both numbers had been disconnected. Apple has a fantastic customer service record, and identity theft is on the rise. With providing an Apple employee ID number, working with a second party from "bank security," reports to the FTC, and regular check-ins, everything seemed totally above-board. We were trying to be smart, be safe, and follow the guidance of those who would know better. With the information we had, we had no way of knowing this wasn’t a legitimate effort to protect us and our resources. We feel embarrassed, ashamed, and dumb. Our daughter, who is also disabled, assured us that this is not our fault, but truthfully, it’s hard to feel that way. While we’ve reported everything to the appropriate authorities - who shared that this is happening more & more frequently - that, unfortunately, doesn’t help us recover our savings. Hip replacement surgery is a costly and lengthy procedure, and we have our existing bills on top of this great upcoming expense. Can you please help us, so my wife, Karen, can get the care she needs, and we can still pay for the rest of our living expenses? Anything helps, even one single dollar. Thank you so much for your time & attention, and we wish you blessings and remind you to stay vigilant.