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UPDATE: PLEASE DONT FORGET TO LIKE AND SHARE, AND FOLLOW OUR CAMPAIGN EVEN IF YOU CAN'T CONTRIBUTE. WE NEED TO GET THE STORY OUT TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE! THANKS
My name is Brian Padilla, I live in Paris France, and I am originally from Rantoul, Illinois. I have started this campaign with a hope. A hope that through community we can help my grandparents overcome a cowardly scam that wiped out their life savings.
It started in August...
The telephone rings. As my grandmother glanced at the caller I.D., the ever so familiar "unknown caller" flashes across the screen. "Certainly just another telemarketer" she said aloud to my grandfather. Yet for some reason, be it a gut feeling or just instinct, my grandfather picks up the line...
Hello, Grandpa, it's Brian!...
I've been in a bad accident in Mexico. I totaled a car, damaged property and I need money fast, please help! Please, whatever you do, don't tell anyone else, I am so embarrassed!
Struck with fear for my well being, and inundated with calls from an imposter and a very convincing "lawyer" over the next several days to weeks, my grandparents eventually wire what would amount to there whole life savings in order to pay for "damage" and to keep "me" safe from the general population in a grimy Mexican prison.
The scammers were so persistent (calling multiple times a day over the course of several weeks) and so convincing that they didn't leave any breathing room for my grandparents to take the time to reason, and when they finally became suspicious, the damage was already done!
My grandparents are honest and hardworking people...
If you know Chuck and Nancy, you already know this about them.
My grandfather spent his career in the military at Chanute Air Force base in Rantoul, Illinois. He was a soldier, and then in the civil-service he served as an instructor. Even after he retired from the military, he continued to worked in construction and landscaping over the next few decades.
My grandmother raised 5 kids (as difficult a job as any), and when her children were out of the house, she took a job at the local bank where she worked until retirement. In just the span of a few weeks everything they had worked and saved for over the course of many years was swindled from them by these cowards.
My grandparents did not suspect anything at first, because they never would have imagined people as dishonest and scheming as this.
My grandparents are not asking for anything...
But I am...
- If you know Chuck and Nancy
- If you know one of Chuck and Nancy's children or grandchildren
- If you crossed paths with them over the years
- even if you just came across this campaign by chance and just want to help and make a small difference.
Please donate to this campaign! Whether it be a dollar or a hundred dollars, every amount will be equally appreciated! All donations will go directly to my grandparents.
Even if you can't participate with a monetary donation, please spread the word about this cowardly scam that preys on the elderly! It is not the first, and won't be the last time that somebody's grandparents pick up the phone.
I live thousands of miles away, and I feel powerless to help, but maybe through this campaign and community, we can give back a small portion of what my grandparents lost when they followed their hearts.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this! Brian
HERE ARE A COUPLE LINKS TO WEBSITES AND BLOGS WHO HAVE FEATURED OUR CAMPAIGN:
http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=449862
Created By:
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Brian PadillaCampaign Manager