This week has been National Consumer Protection Week and today is National Slam The Scam Day. The initiative was created in 2020 to raise public awareness concerning Social Security-related scams. Have you ever received one of those threatening calls stating that your taxes are in arrears and unless you immediately pay, you will be turned over to collections and legal authorities for prosecution? Maybe the call hasn’t been a threat but is offering great benefits or refunds. To receive those, you have to give your Social Security number in order to verify your identity.
For the discerning, you know this is a scam, but it still leaves you with a pit in your stomach, asking “What if?” Others just give out the requested information and get snookered. Identities are stolen. Finances are drained from your savings and retirement accounts. Charges are made on a credit card in your name on an account you never opened. Stolen debit cards are used to drain savings. Now, you’ve really got a mess!
Quite often, the scam comes via email. DO NOT OPEN ATTACHMENTS FROM PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW!!!! DON’T CLICK LINKS FROM UNVERIFIED SOURCES!! All computers need to be outfitted with virus protection and even the attachments from people you trust should go through the virus scanning first before opening. Some folks, though, just can’t seem to help themselves. Is it loneliness? Is it insatiable curiosity? Is it gullibility? They will read the entirety of the email, clicking every hyperlink there is, and unknowingly open their computer to hackers, viruses, trojans, and other malware.
“Marlo Anderson, the founder of National Day Calendar, knows a few things about how scammers operate. He has witnessed countless people from the community come into our local shop having just been scammed by phone calls, emails, and threats. While we can often manage to repair the individual’s computer we cannot recover lost payments scammed from the public. For this very reason, we fully support National Slam the Scam Day.”1
On February 7, 2023, the Office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration, released a press release prior to Slam The Scam Day. Good advice was given that should be heeded.
“Tips for spotting scams is a critical component because it’s important to keep consumers aware of current trends and past behavior patterns of the scammers. SSA OIG provides resources on its website and posts tips and warnings on its social media platforms. SSA OIG urges everyone
to be cautious of any contact supposedly from a government agency telling you about a problem you don’t recognize and provides the following tips. Real government officials will NEVER: • threaten arrest or legal action against you unless you immediately send money; • promise to increase your benefits or resolve a problem if you pay a fee or move your money into a protected account; • require payment with gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfer, Internet currency, or by mailing cash; or • try to gain your trust by providing fake “documentation,” false “evidence,” or the name of a real government official.”2
Did you know that Social Security scammers are not the only scammers out there? There are a lot of religious scammers as well. 2 Peter 2:1-3 warns, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (2) And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (3) And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
The phrase “damnable heresies” means that the heresies bring corruption and destruction. They cause spiritual defilement. They are slick talkers with a covetous spirit, desiring your money as well as wanting your reverence to inflate their ego and pride. Many fall for the scams and suffer great damage.
Today, be alert and wary. Have a discerning, skeptical spirit. If you tend to be a bit on the gullible side, determine today to have someone trustworthy help you make decisions. An email comes from an untrustworthy source? DELETE. Even if it’s a name you recognize but doesn’t sound like them, look at the address of the sender. Don’t recognize it? DELETE. Someone calls, asking for information or money? HANG UP. The more you talk, the more danger you’re in.
What do we do about spiritual scammers? 1 John 4:1 has the answer. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
1https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-slam-the-scam-day-march-9
2https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/MTk5ODQ4NDQwMDgyNDc0NjI0/slam-the-scam-press-release-final-22723.pdf
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