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Fraud
While lying on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do what is wrong. Psalm 36:4
Don’t go on the way of the wicked … They don’t sleep unless they do evil; they can’t sleep unless they make someone stumble. Proverbs 4:14-16
I’m not sure if I have told you this story before – All Angels almost fell for a fraud attempt. We received an automated phone call from FPL (Florida Power and Light, or, as Dale would call them, “Florida Plunder and Loot”) saying that our payment for the last three months has not gone through. If we did not pay them by the afternoon, the power would be shut off through the weekend. I started to panic thinking about how to have Sunday services without electricity. The recorded voice said we could not pay over the phone, they needed cash to be dropped off at a drop box location in downtown Sarasota. Thankfully, we do not have a policy on outflow cash handling. During the moments it took for us to consider how to pay in cash, we realized that this might be a scam. Instead of using the phone number they provided, we looked up FPL’s number off our invoice, called them and verified that our account is up to date. I then called Longboat’s non-emergency police line and told them of the scam. After collecting our information, I was told that scams are getting better – more realistic and more pervasive.
A couple of months ago, in the afternoon, I picked up a phone call from “General Motors” saying that our company-owned car’s warranty is about to expire (we don’t have a company car). On my cell, I received a voicemail from “Your County’s Court System” saying that a warrant has been issued and that I need to press “1” to talk to an officer and have the situation resolved. The “Social Security Office” recently called to say that there is a problem with my social security number. I received a passionate plea to help support the “fallen police officer’s fund” which, according to the scoffer, was dangerously close to running out of funds. Through email and Facebook, I receive weekly attempts of fraud – either to “friend” someone who I don’t know, or, someone I do know whose system has been hacked. And then, more recently, I received emails from two different beloved parishioners saying they needed me to buy them gift cards at Amazon. … which was not true.
This reminds me of the scam that I did tell you about when two people at All Angels got a request from me for gift cards for Apple phone products. That was a pretty sophisticated scam. Thankfully it didn’t work because someone called me to make sure I was okay.
At the beginning of this Reflection, I quoted a psalm and a pericope from Proverbs warning about fraudsters who can’t sleep unless they are ripping someone off. The author of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun. The fraud attempts that we experience today are nothing new; but, the scammers have become more sophisticated. This means we need to remain even more vigilant.
Please know that All Angels will ask you for contributions; it’s how we are able to continue our ministry of bringing the living Christ to those inside and outside the church. However, we will not contact you to buy gift cards for myself or for any other member of All Angels. If you receive a text or email from me or anyone else in the congregation asking for gift cards, please think first that it is a scam, and call me or the parishioner directly.
One thing that scammers can never reproduce is conversations and relationships. As the hymn goes, they will know us by our love. Next time a fraud attempt comes up and one of the evil-doers tries to make us stumble, perhaps we should use it as an opportunity to converse with one another and build God’s kingdom. Through conversation we will make certain that evil is foiled and that love will take the day.
- Rev. Dave
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