Technology brings many benefits but it can also be used to scam good people out of large amounts of money. This could be through phishing emails that appear to be from your bank or Internet service provider etc. Never mind who they are trying to impersonate, the formula is pretty similar, attempting to get you to pay an emergency fee to avoid being cut off, or trick you into sharing your personal details or allowing your computer to be accessed remotely.
A particularly lethal scam that is now prevalent in the UK is cunningly devised to trick people in stages. It starts with a call about a package that cannot be delivered and an urgent request for a small payment of a few pounds to ensure your parcel isn’t sent back. The text or email you receive links to a fraudulent site that looks very much like the real thing but it isn’t. One may be tricked into parting with two or three pounds, but that is only the beginning.
Having received your card or bank details, you get a follow up call from what appears to be your bank, informing you that you have been the victim of online fraud and your bank account has been compromised. You are advised to protect your funds by transferring into ‘your new account’, which in reality is the fraudster’s account. Some people have lost thousands of pounds in this way.
Every scam is based on deception and invariably fuelled by fear. There is often the pressure to take immediate action. For example, your phone will be cut off, or your Internet service suspended. Or in this case, you have to act without delay to ensure your account is safe. You act to do so and then discover that you have actually achieved the exact opposite.
We are often faced with such situations in daily life, it may not be a hi-tech scam but we still need to discern what is the truth and what is a lie. This is why the Bible instructs us to be as wise as a serpent and yet as innocent as a dove.
In a similar way to the most cunning scam, our enemy, the devila comes to trick us with his intricate schemes. These are tailor-made to derail us. He comes to kill, steal and destroy, that is his nature. Yet, God is the exact opposite. He offers us abundant life.
It is important that we are alert as the Bible says our enemy roams about like a roaring lion seeking whoever he can to devour. So, be vigilgent, on the lookout for the next scam that finds its way to your inbox. However, be even more cautious about the plans of the enemy to lead you astray. Losing money is bad enough, but money can be replaced. Allowing the enemy to take you on a downward spiral can have eternal consequences.
Ensure you are right with God and trust Him for His protection over every scam, and all deception of the enemy. Do not allow yourself to be deceived. If you don’t know God, ask Jesus to come into your heart and transform your life. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Follow Him, walk in His truth and receive eternal life.
Ask Him to give you the spiritual gift of discernment so you can be supernaturlly prepared in this good fight of faith. Put on your Heavenly armour which includes the belt of truth. It is truth that holds everything together. Don’t do anything without it.
Also read: Do You Judge Yourself?
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Al Gibson
Wordsmith, overcomer and exhorter. Al has a degree in Journalism and Media Studies and years of communications experience in Africa, the UK, Israel and USA. He left South Africa in 2001 and worked for GOD TV in England for 18 years. He now heads up Countdown Creative, a content creation business in Exeter. Al is the author of three biographies. Blogs he writes for include GODTV.com; International Christian and UK and US Christian.
