Beware the new thieves
Clever online scammers are targeting Christians, old and young – here’s what to watch for
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Gerry lost his dear wife Margaret in 2020, after nearly forty years of marriage. He never thought that he would be the lonely type, but now that she was gone, he realized that while the kids and grandkids loved him, and checked in on him regularly, they had their own lives and were busy with so many things. While not much of a social media guy, Gerry had a Facebook account that kept him connected to friends and family. After Margaret’s passing, he received many condolences and messages that really helped him through a tough time.
One friend of a Facebook friend who lived on the other side of the country continued to message Gerry after he accepted her friend request during this time of grief. Laura had lost her husband a few years ago, and she knew how lonely it could get after the family settled back into their normal routines, and the house felt so empty. Their conversations switched to private messenger so that prying Facebook eyes wouldn’t have anything to gossip about, and the connections became an important part of Gerry’s day.
After a month of regular, frequent communication, Gerry grew to rely on Laura and considered her a true friend. They were both interested in politics, and had many interesting chats about how Canadian culture was changing so quickly. They wondered what life was going to be like for their grandchildren in the coming decades. They shared the challenges they faced as singles in churches where most people were part of a couple. Neither of them liked Facetime or other video chat services, so most of their talks took place through Whatsapp, or Messenger or email.
A few months into their friendship, Laura became gravely sick. Her illness was life threatening, and she was devastated. Professing her confidence in Jesus, she told Gerry she was not afraid of death, but still had a lot to live for. Treatments for her illness were very expensive, and Laura was not a wealthy widow. Gerry was happy he could do something for her, and sent money through e-transfers to help her pay the bills that began to pile up. The treatments became more and more expensive, and for a while, Laura insisted that Gerry stop sending funds; it wasn’t worth it anymore with all the pain she was experiencing: she was at peace with stopping the treatment. Gerry insisted: she had to fight on, for the sake of her children and friends, and it wasn’t right to give up hope!
Perhaps by now, dear reader, you recognize the themes of what has become a far too common scenario. Lonely people are fooled by deceivers who take advantage of them by pretending to be someone who cares. “Laura” never existed; the man who invented her had dozens of other online personalities that he used to connect with men and women around the globe. All the money that Gerry sent enriched this thief’s bank account, and never paid for a penny of treatment for anyone. And since he didn’t even live in Canada, there was no way to recover the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Gerry sent that were supposed to help someone who never was.
Now, thankfully, this is a fictionalized account and Gerry is not a real person, so the harm he suffered didn’t happen. But I’m sharing his story because this exact thing is happening to real people all across Canada, and we need to know what to look out for.
Extorting the young
Now let me tell you about Logan, a shy teenager, especially bashful around girls at his Christian high school. His Instagram profile painted an active picture – posts after every hockey game, after a day at the lake, and an afternoon on the slopes. His profile led to lots of connections with teens with similar interests, and he began to have more “conversations” with these virtual friends than with his classmates. Chelsea, a girl from the States, became an even closer friend, and Logan looked forward to their interactions more and more, and perhaps to meeting her some day. Logan grew more intimate with Chelsea, and although he knew he shouldn’t, he traded inappropriate pictures with her.
Again, by now you may have guessed the deceit that had happened. Chelsea was not a girl from Florida but a con man, and now that he had these compromising photos, he had the tools needed to begin extorting Logan. Small Venmo transfers grew larger and larger, and if Logan didn’t comply, these pictures would be shared with everyone he knew. Weeks of torment followed for the beleaguered teenager.
Logan’s parents noticed how their normally happy son had turned morose, with no energy for the things that usually brought him joy. Dad took Logan out for coffee, and when pressed, his son confessed his dilemma. With help from the local authorities, the extortionist was frozen out from further contact. The family’s ward elder visited with Logan, and was a huge comfort for the teenager, reminding him that “all have sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). It’s a simple message that Logan knew from his youth, but such a comforting thing to be reminded!
While Logan’s story ended well, this type of extortion is extremely dangerous. Especially younger victims see their world tumbling down around them. Some have become so distraught, not seeing any way out from their dilemma, that they have taken their own lives.
A new danger
While both Gerry and Logan are not real people, what happened to them is actually happening to people across the world, with frauds and scammers using social media and modern communication tools to rob unsuspecting citizens.
Our online profiles show our hobbies, our loved ones, our careers, and other things important to us, and that become the means by which thieves find connection points with us. A seemingly innocent message or connection opens the door to a virtual relationship that builds up over time. We begin to trust the person on the other end of that email chain or iMessage conversation. And these thieves are happy to play the long game, not asking you for money in the early days of your friendship. It could be more than a year before they “strike” – they will wait till they’ve become someone you trust, someone that you want to help.
So what can you do to protect yourself? Here are three simple rules to help you shut down these scoundrels.
Rule 1: Do I actually know you?
Today’s thieves rarely come to your front door – they approach through electronic communication like phone calls, social media connections, and emails. You may believe you have a friendship with someone; you may even have pictures of this person, or have seen their online presence for some years, you may even have phone conversations with someone – but unless you have seen them in person, there is a chance that this person is deceiving you. You can shut down most scams and schemes by following this rule: if I haven’t seen you in person, we don’t really have a relationship, and I certainly will not send you any gifts, financial or otherwise.
While the scams in this story took a long time to set up, other schemes and frauds can materialize quickly. For example, your “utility company” may phone you to let you know that your service is being disconnected due to missed payments, unless you are able to pay over the phone right now.
Even more distressing: fake kidnappers have used voice recordings of grandchildren to extort money from vulnerable seniors: “You must send these funds now or you will never see them again!”
Rule 2: Don’t answer your phone if the number calling is not one you recognize!
You cannot be sure that a caller is who they say they are. Even if the call is from your local area code, or the area code where you have relatives or connections, just let the incoming call go to your voice mail. If the matter is legitimate and important, the caller will leave a message, and you can verify that whoever is calling is really with the company they say they are with, by looking up their phone number from your latest bill or statement. And if the message does turn out to be a loved one, you can simply call them back!
Rule 3: Slow down, and tell someone!
Most scammers rely on a sense of urgency to make you act more quickly than you normally would. “Get on your computer now and make this E-transfer, or else this terrible consequence will follow.” We get flustered when we are put in a stressful situation; our normal logic gets pushed aside in our panic.
Hang up the phone, close up the email or message, and call a trusted friend or loved one. Most of the time, the messenger’s urgency is a tactic designed to bully you into doing something you normally would not do without double checking its legitimacy.
How can we help each other?
“It is not good for man to be alone,” said the Lord in Genesis 2, and this applies not just to finding a marriage partner, but also to human beings as social creatures. We need relationships, for both giving and receiving love and friendship. In our modern, internet connected world, more and more people have stronger virtual connections than they experience in real life. Many people are lonely!
One of the most important ways for us to help our loved ones not become victims of these types of scams is very old fashioned. But it’s also very effective. Keep up your personal, face-to-face visits with your family and friends and neighbors. There is nothing that can replace a real conversation with a real human being. Ask questions of each other; find out from one another what is going on in our lives. Stop by for a coffee regularly!
Especially retirees and seniors benefit from these conversations. They may be more lonely and isolated than younger folks. They often won’t be as aware of the dangers of virtual connections, and they may not have heard of the scams and schemes with which you are familiar.
Don’t be afraid to ask financial questions: many of our seniors want to be generous with what the Lord entrusted to them. This is a wonderful impulse! But you can help the seniors in your life with good counsel on how to support Christian causes for maximum impact.
Rejoice in the Lord always
Victims of fraud or extortion often feel ashamed of their situation. If they’ve traded inappropriate pictures, they feel guilty and unlovable. If they’ve been defrauded of money, they feel foolish, as if it was their fault. If this is you, dear reader, please know that there is such great relief in telling someone your troubles – tell a friend, tell your parents, tell your elder. Do not keep your troubles private! It is a joy to be part of a church community that bears one another’s burdens.
And if you have sinned in your interactions, confess your sins to the Lord! Our God is patient, loving, and compassionate. He is able to forgive anything that you have done, and He wants to assure you that because of Jesus’ work, your sins are removed as far as the east is from the west! You are washed, you are clean! 1 John 1:9 reminds us “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!
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4 ways to avoid a financial fleecing
How to invest carefully
Modern scammers have learned how we can be enticed by the lure of large financial returns, especially when presented as exclusive opportunities for a small group of people.
This scheme doesn’t only happen online; sometimes the most effective thieves are very popular figures in their own home town… until their schemes unravel. We might think these things only happen in big cities, but unfortunately, they occur wherever sinful men live in community. In my small town, dozens of seniors lost millions of dollars after investing with a person they trusted.
So here are a few rules to avoid entrapment:
1. If something sounds too good to be true, don’t bite!
Real investing is, by its nature, risky. Investors know that these are the risks associated with any business, and that success is not guaranteed in any endeavor. So, if someone promises you an above average return, and states that there is no risk – it’s a sure thing! – do not believe them! Even if a brother or friend states that you are guaranteed a 12% return, when banks are paying 3% or 4% interest on CD’s, do not believe them! It does not matter how many other people are praising this investment; it doesn’t matter if this opportunity is only available to a few carefully selected people. Don’t be fooled by a “guarantee.” It’s not a promise, it’s a lie. (P.S., if someone reads this, and disagrees, please email me and I’d be glad to talk this through with you!)
2. Don’t deposit money for other people
When someone who doesn’t owe you money wants you to deposit cheques or money orders or wired funds into your bank account, don’t allow it! Thieves have developed all kinds of ruses and stories to explain why they need this service performed. It could be overpayment for something you are selling, or it could be a commission for a small task you did for them remotely (like writing an online review or forwarding messages to friends). Do not be distracted by the elaborate story, because part two of this scam is definitely coming.
The scammer will ask for a portion of these funds back, as a commission, or a splitting of expenses, or explain that they made a mistake and sent you too much. The thief will hassle, hound, and threaten you until this amount is sent to him. Whatever portion you send back to him is likely to be the amount you are being robbed, because the cheque or money order or wired funds of the original deposit turn out to be fraudulent after a few weeks. Or they might take more, because they have used the transaction to get access to your bank account information.
3. If you don’t understand, don’t invest
Investor Peter Lynch said: “If you can’t explain to a 10-year-old in two minutes or less why you own a stock, you shouldn’t own it.” The same principle applies to private investment opportunities. If you can’t understand how a company will be profitable, or how a company’s business plan works, or the technology behind the product or service, you may with confidence say: “I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand how your business is going to make money, and so I’m going to decline this opportunity.” And end that conversation!
4. Wealth grows slowly
Ripoff artists normally promise not just a large return, but a quick investment increase. When you hear someone promise large increases in a short period of time, remember what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 13:11: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” He echoes that point in Proverbs 21:5: “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
Marty VanDriel has been interested in helping folks "avoid getting ripped off" since he began listening to consumer advocate Clark Howard back in the ‘90s! An RP reader from the Fraser Valley alerted VanDriel to incidents of these scams among Canadian Christians. VanDriel's favorite financial advice is to read and reflect on the book of Proverbs regularly!...
