Learning the Hard Way
Dec 1, 2024 | by The Fellowship
Last week, I sat down at my husband’s computer and began the steps to log onto our investment account -- one that we have had for years with a prominent, national firm. My husband was seated beside me, prepared to give instructions. His plan was to buy a new stock that day and he wanted to talk me through the process, so I would gain familiarity with how it is done.
I entered the necessary information to access the account and then requested that the mandatory security code be texted to me. It immediately appeared on my phone and after typing in the numbers, I pressed enter. Instead of our account information appearing on the screen, a glaring message informed me that our account had been blocked because of fraudulent activity. A phone number was given to call at once to get our account unblocked.
Horrified that such a thing could be happening to us, I picked up my phone and dialed the number without a second thought. I wanted the situation resolved as soon as possible! The man who answered gave me his name and asked how he could help. He could not have been nicer and began to give instructions. I am not very tech savvy and was at a disadvantage by being on my husband’s computer. It is from a manufacturer other than mine (and therefore configured differently) and is also quite old.
The process was taking forever because I needed quite a bit of time finding the symbols or words on the different pages where he wanted me to click. The man had an accent and since my husband has a problem understanding people with accents, he did not take over for me. But all of a sudden, my husband began to suspect we were being scammed. A branch office of our investment firm is only about a mile from our home, and he insisted that we go there immediately to get their help.
As soon as we related our fears to the representative who greeted us in the lobby, he wrote down all the information and went to his office and began making calls. He came back once to ask if we were familiar with a certain company, and also a bank in New York City. We had never heard of either. After we waited a while longer, he took us into his office. On his speaker phone was a representative from the investment firm’s fraud department who began to explain that we were indeed victims of a scam!
The scammers had already tried twice to get money sent from our account to a named company’s account at a bank in New York City. But because the investment company has such tight security and constant surveillance of transactions, they put a hold on both attempts to transfer money from our account. Never had any dealings with that particular company or bank ever been associated with our account and therefore were highly suspicious. I cannot tell you our relief to learn our investment firm had taken quick action to keep us from being wiped out financially!
I could not stop saying “Thank You” to the Lord for protecting us. The relief I felt was like a bear hug from heaven. Every morning as we pray together at breakfast, my husband and I thank God for His protection and ask for it to continue. There are so many things we need protection from – and now scamming has become a big reality in our lives.
The investment firm strongly advised getting my husband’s computer cleaned out. We took it immediately to a nearby computer repair company that has always solved our problems. The owner said the computer was likely hacked, despite being covered by a protection system, and its age made that easier. He also said that one of the latest methods of invading computers is by buying space for advertising to appear along the computer screen margins which gives the scammers an entry.
One cannot go through an ordeal like this without learning a valuable lesson! Any time an unknown screen appears on any electronic device telling you to call a given number because of a problem that has occurred, NEVER DO IT! Instead go to your stored information on the company involved and call the access number supplied by them.
The Hebrew phrase Elohim Shormi is translated God is my Protector! Never have we been more aware of this incredible attribute of our Lord!
The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress.
Psalm 18:2 GNTA