The Internet is a great invention for humanity but it also brings out the worst in many. People have access to individuals they would never have access to. That is why it remains important as to who you are communicating with and why. Now there are some scams you hear about and you ask yourself how could someone be gullible to something so simple and “easy” to see, but unfortunately people really fall for anything. Sometimes I wonder who is really the scammer? The person doing the scam or the person who believe they were going to get something for nothing? It’s a two-way street. In any case, here are some common scam that people are still falling for and how to avoid them.
The “You Won the Lottery”– this scam is an old one, I remember this started way back when the internet was getting more popular and you “happened” to get an email from someone from a foreign country telling you, “you won the lottery” but in order for them to send you the money you won, you must send a certain amount to them so they can release the funds. The emails are usually filled with typo’s and just weird looking and I would hope someone who see that and just delete it because usually these emails make it to junk mail anyway. However, many people fell for this scam and did send money to whoever was running the “lottery” and of course they lost all their money and got nothing. This is a very easy scam to avoid-just delete the email, delete, delete, delete. Why would you think you won the lottery you never played? How many times have you gone to this foreign country and played the lottery that someone can send you such an email? And let’s say for some silly reason you believe the email, why would you win such a large amount of money and have to send money to get it when the scammer can simply deduct the money, from the lottery winnings? Hope this is helping you.
The “You Owe a Debt”, I can see why many may fall for this one, most people would have owed some kind of debt in their lifetime, whether it’s credit, student loans, medical bills, mortgages, etc., but before you engage you need to make sure this is truly your debt. Someone calling you randomly to tell you, you owe a debt and can’t verify this debt is not someone you should be giving your money to. Many times, debt collectors/scammers will pressure someone, scare them with jail time and garnishing wages to make the person give up their money, that’s illegal. If at any time someone calls you about a debt and you believe it’s yours ask them to verify through a letter with proof that is yours and don’t give them your address, if it’s really yours they will know the address to send it to, by law a real debt collector is supposed to validate the debt. Moreover, there are laws governing when they can call, of course a scammer will ignore all the laws, because they are just looking for money. If you know for sure, hey I owe no one, simply do not engage, ask them to not call your number again and hang up. Keep a record of the number and if they call again, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Never just give up your personal information, account numbers, bank numbers to anyone especially if you are not sure what they are talking about.
The “Online Dating Scams,” online dating scams can go from comical to outright dangerous. I understand some feel we live in different times and this is an option they want to engage with but I think if you really want to meet scammers the online dating is a perfect networking place for them. So many people have been dupe looking for love in all the wrong places. You got the married individuals pretending to not be married, completely fake identity scammers, the charming but needs money scammers, the list can go on and on. I personally would not advise anyone to waste their time on these sites, just don’t do it. I have yet to see a story about these sites that ended well. As much as I like to protect you, I can only warn you if you must engage.
The biggest, most repetitive scam I keep hearing about is the asking for money scam. A person speaks to a person sometimes not even ever meeting them, the scammer charms their way right into their pocket book. As easy as I see how to avoid this, many people have fallen for this scam both men and women. As a concern person, if anyone you are “dating” you don’t even know, have not meant (or even meant), ask you for money and you feel you must respond, please send them a link to (indeed.com) that is an employment search site, it’s obvious your date needs a job. But the wiser thing to do is to end the conversation. I’m sure the person will come up with anything to make you send the money, do not. No respectable man or woman is going to ask you for money, especially from a dating site.
The next one is the double life, now if you are dating someone and you know nothing about them, you probably dating a ghost. If their story sound too good to be true, it probably is, if you really like this person you need to become a detective. Most liars will slip up. The reason they are bold and can tell so many lies is because they know they can find at least one gullible person to believe them, but don’t let it be you. Ask lots of questions, if they see you are asking too much, they will eventually get angry with you, and that’s all the answer you need to know to end it. Don’t be so desperate for love that you ignore the red flags, a liar will slip up. Trust your intuition, if things are not making sense, walk away, some people just want love so bad that you ignore everything, that is not going to work to your benefit.
There is so much to say about dating scams, but I’m not trying to write a book here, the other common scams, is they are in love so quickly, want to marry you like yesterday, want to do everything quick, quick, quick, etc. If you feel you must be on these sites, be very cautious with whom you are dealing with.
The “Church Scams,” I save the best for last. Unfortunately, as much as we don’t want to see the church listed as a scam, many scammers not only go to church but own a church. The church is one of the best business one can start, just look around, tax benefits, people freely give money and you don’t need to do much, these days you can appoint yourself as a minister. This is not what God wants, but thanks to humanity, church has become a business. It’s really hard to get church folks to spot a church scam. They believe in their pastors so much if they could they would give their pastors their eyeballs for no reason at all. It doesn’t take much to scam many church folks, just some good motivating words and a promise of a blessing from their made up god and they will literally give anything.
It’s really sad to see how many are so deceived, but I’m reminded of John 10:27, His sheep’s will hear His voice. Most people who often fall for church scams are more concern with their pastor’s voice rather than God’s voice. If they took their time to read their bible, they will see how there is no scripture telling anyone to pay for a blessing, pay for healing, pay to get a wife/husband, run baby oil on yourself and get $1,000, or give $1,000 and get $10,000. The common theme with these church scams is that they always involve money. You are better off just buying a money tree from Home Depot and expecting it to turn to cash money, before you see anything from these church scams manifest.
As much people have expose many churches, pastors, bishops, they still have an audience. There is not much we can do for this type of audience they are going to have to decide if they serve man (mankind) or God. For everyone else, avoid any church/preacher telling you if you give this amount then God will give you this and that. God is more concern with our soul than what is in our pocketbooks. Too many people are chasing after worldly things, fame and money and ignore their spiritual life. God says he knows what we need, Matthew 6:24-34. If you want to achieve a certain financial status then work for it and allow God to guide you but don’t think a scam is going to make you rich. Do you know what often happens to people who get scam by the church they are left broke, disappointed and angry, now does that sound a blessing from God?
There is so many things going on in this world, so many people are thinking of wicked things to do to others, be mindful, be attentive so you won’t fall victim. Most scams are avoidable, but you play a part when you engage. You don’t have to respond to every email, every call, every text. If you must, then take the time to investigate before responding. Get your phone numbers on the do not call list, some states have their own site as well and of course the federal (FTC). Filter certain email messages with certain words that way they go straight to the delete box. As soon as someone starts bullying you and pressuring you to do something hang up the phone. If you can’t decide whether this is real or not, ask someone for their opinion. My favorite which most people won’t do is read the fine print, when you get certain letters mailed to your house. The fine print is where all the real information is. This is all common-sense things, but as many of us have heard and seen people are still falling for these common scams. I hope you will become more watchful, because technology is advancing so will scams. Be vigilant, be alert.
~Blessings from Milly J
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