These things only happen to "the other guy:"
The other day I received a phone call. The call came through as "Unknown" on the phone. I answered it anyway, which I question now whether that, in general, is a wise thing to do. The woman on the other end of the line introduced herself as "Yvonne," and asked to speak to "Jane Harber."
"Speaking," I answered.
"I work for (so-and-so) Attorneys. We are representing GE Money Bank in their law suit against you for charges in the amount of $5,432.17 on an unsecured credit card."
"WHAT???"
"You have charged this amount, and not paid it. GE Money Bank is sueing you for the balance."
"What are you talking about? What credit card, and when did these charges occur? What's an 'unsecured' credit card anyway?"
"An unsecured credit card is one that is through a store. It could be Walmart, or Beall's, or just about any store."
"Well, I don't have any store credit cards. Are you sure you have the right person?"
"You are Jane Harber, are you not?"
"Yes. But maybe the credit card belongs to someone else with the same name."
"We are about to serve you with these papers. You'll find out then that we have the right person."
"Well, tell me what credit card and when these charges occurred."
(Shuffling a few papers...) "Look, ma'am ... I don't know what credit card it was. But I'm trying to help you here. Just give me your birthdate, and the last two numbers of your Social Security ..."
"Birth date is ...."
AND THEN I "WOKE UP" TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING!
"But I'm not giving you the last two numbers of my Social Security until I can confirm your identity. Your call came through as "Unknown," and I want your telephone number so I can call these lawyers."
"I'm just trying to help you here, but I guess you're not going to cooperate. So you'll get yours when the papers arrive."
With that, "Yvonne" hung up.
Oh my gosh!!!!! How many times have I heard of these scams?!? How many people have been duped into revealing private and personal information, only to wake up to the reality that their identity had been stolen. How many people have gone through years of torment and turmoil in order to get messes like this one purported to be, straightened out. And don't we usually think that "these things only happen to the other guy?" As aware as I am that these things occur, you would have thought I'd have picked up on this one sooner than I did. But if truth be known, the only thing that really saved my hide on this one, was the fact that the call came through as "Unknown." I truly believe I had a big, strong, guardian angel guiding me during this conversation.
But isn't this just like the enemy? What a type and picture of how he deceives us and tricks us into getting into such trouble! Cunning and deceitful, his desire is for our ruin. There's nothing more that he would like but to see us entrenched in years of trials, tribulations and troubles. Spin our heads with lies and lack of understanding. Destruction along every path.
So, how do we stop him? It's been said that a bank teller is not trained in how to catch a forgery when it comes across their palms. That would really be an effort in futility, since new ways and means of creating forgeries and deceptions are created just as often as we figure out how to stop the last barrage of them. No, a bank teller is so well trained in knowing the real thing that they would be able to recognize anything that didn't line up!
That's how we stop God's enemy and ours! We become so familiar with the "real thing" that we can recognize and catch a forgery when it comes across our path! We come to know Jesus Christ, and His Word. Develop a relationship with Him. He is the "real One."
