All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
John 10:8 NIV
Last week I received yet another scammer call. The intent was to create fear and move me to immediate action. I didn’t recognize the phone number, so I let it go to message. Later, a man’s voice said: “Charges have been filed against you [me] by The Internal Revenue Agency and an arrest warrant has been issued.” Really? Never will the official Internal Revenue Service initiate action against a taxpayer, or issue a warrant, in this way. Not ever.
Notice how closely the fake attempts to mimic the official name of the IRS.
This blatant attempt to steal someone’s identity and rip their off their money targets those who get scared. Unfortunately, the technique is common among con artists. Another widespread scam is tech support. According to Microsoft, in 2015 an estimated 3.3 million people—many of them seniors—were victimized by a tech-support con, at a total cost of $1.5 billion. That’s one American duped out of an average $454 nearly every 10 seconds.
I get a dozen scam calls every month from con artists who are about the Devil’s work. This latest call originated in Alden, NY. The number used to place the call was also the number I was told to call back: 716-902-1608. I’ve made the number public so the authorities can add this crook to their ever-growing data base of criminal activity.
Let’s not allow fear to dictate our actions. There are things we can do to stay safe in a world where fraud runs rampant.
1. Be wary. Don’t be eager to answer phone calls from unknown sources.
2. Be suspicious, not trusting, of online sites. Even faith-based dating services are in the dirty game. Research people and businesses via Google or Spokeo.com first. Apart from a registration fee on the site, no one looking for love should be asking for money.
3. Be vigilant. Guard personal information like a hawk. Be leery of health care done outside a doctor’s office, freebies given, or unsolicited e-mail offers. Free is not guaranteed to be free of pretense.
4. Be informed. With the arrival of tax season, tax-related identity theft is a real danger. Make sure your Social Security number is only given to those with a legitimate purpose who have taken measures to safeguard your information.
Life includes scam artists. But they only win when we let our guard down.
