When my credit card sent an alert that Netflix had increased our monthly charge, I called Netflix to ask why.  A kind, young man answered and said that he would investigate.  Within minutes, he asked if we (Dave or I) had given someone in Ohio permission to use our account.  We had not.  Did we want that account removed?  We did.

To do that, he needed to get into my account.  And that’s when I became a fool. I gave him access to my computer, something my brother, Jim, years before had told me never, ever to do.  How stupid can one get?

 

He told me that we had $145 due in refunds.  He knew what we had paid and when.  He seemed trustworthy.  Thirty minutes later, I was passed on to another technician, and when he asked me to type in my phone number, I became suspicious.  “Why do you need that?” I asked.  He then told me he already knew it and said it correctly.  They would refund my bank account in two installments, one for $20 and one for $125.  I was told to type in $20.00.  When I did that, $20,000 appeared.  I immediately tried to correct it, to no avail.

“What have you done?” the technician yelled at me.  You just tried to get $20,000 from us!”  I recognized the scam.  I had read about it.  Next, they would tell me that I need to refund the $20,000 to them, and they would take money out of my account.  I wanted to throw up.

I hung up and immediately called my bank in Fort Scott.  Did they see any attempt to take money out of my account?  Yes–$20,000 from our savings to our checking.  I panicked. “Stop it.  Please.  It’s a scam.”    The bank employees shot into action, teaming to stop the transaction.  Had it been a few seconds later, our savings account would have been wiped out.

Meantime, the scammer tried multiple times to call me back. I refused to take his calls.

You know what happened next.  Our bank accounts had to be closed, all our creditors needed to be alerted, automatic payments had to be changed, etc.  For two days I labored to make all the corrections.

With every contact, I became madder at myself…and the scammers.  How many people had they ripped off?  Wiped out their life savings?  I contacted the Geek Squad with Best Buy where I had bought my computer.  The scammers had added an app that would give them access to my computer (which was removed), but, praise God, there was no other damage.

But how did I know if the Geek Squad was trustworthy?  Is there anyone we can trust?  Clearly, I couldn’t trust myself to make wise decisions. I’ve met spouses who could not trust each other, kids who could not trust their parents, parishioners who could not trust their pastors, and businesspeople who could not trust their partners.  The list is endless.

The Bible gives us direction on the One we can trust.  In Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV), we read: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Why didn’t I pray for guidance when this call began? In spite of myself, I believe that God made my paths straight by having me hang up in time, by banking in a small town where I could connect with caring women instead of a robot, and by having a credit card company that walked me through the steps to stay safe.

I learned a valuable lesson.  I hope my foolishness prevents you from making the same mistake.