Hello My Chickadees,
The Bible tells us that the enemy, who is a thief and the father of lies, “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10); and never have we seen the evidence of that more than we have in these last days and times.
While enjoying a much-needed vacation, I scrolled through my emails and saw a message professing to come from Verizon regarding my service. It looked and sounded plausible, and with my brain being on vacation mode, I clicked on it. The next morning while sitting on the balcony of my room and doing my prayers and meditation for the day, I received a text from a friend who inquired whether I had emailed her. I had not; I’m on vacation. Immediately after responding to her, I was flooded with calls and texts from friends, family, and loved ones, some of whom I had not talked to in years; concerned about my well-being and alerting me to the ominous message they had received. I knew immediately that I had been hacked. Panic gripped me but I received another text from a friend who knows me well enough to know what I was going through in that moment, and gave the comforting message, don’t panic; change your password. Upon doing that, I began to calm down enough to allow my rational brain to think about what to do next. Not wanting anyone to fall prey to this malicious scheme, I began going through my contact list to alert everyone that I had been hacked, and the message they received was not from me.
Most people who know me know that I am one of the most technologically challenged individuals on the planet. I am not a big email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media kind of person. If I need something from you, or you need something from me, the phone is my modus operandi. Prior to the hack, I didn’t even know what a Google play card was (still don’t), so the likelihood of me asking anyone to purchase a Google gift card for me for any reason, is highly unlikely. Being out of the country at the time of the hack, there was little else I could do after changing my password and texting everyone in my contact list to alert them of the fact that I had been hacked. I prayed that no one else would be harmed by the enemy’s attack upon me; and I know the Bible says we should pray for our enemies, but admittedly, that was not my first thought. There were some prayers regarding Satan’s little helper, but they were more along the lines of retribution and God avenging this demonic act.
I can’t speak for anyone else who has experienced being hacked, but I felt so gullible. I understand why the Bible warns us to “be vigilant and cautious at ALL times (even on vacation); because satan walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour” (1Peter 5:8); so we, the children of God, must be ‘shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves’ (Matthew 10:16). The battle between light and dark, good and evil, is raging like we have never seen before all over the planet; and with every yin, there is a yang. Technology is a wonderful thing and God inspires man with the wisdom to create things for the benefit of all His children, but Satan, being true to his mission, purpose, and goals, will take the truth of God and make it a lie. He is the master deceiver and he’s good at it because he’s been doing it since the Garden of Eden. But he will not have the last say. Yes we are in the middle of a war, and like Edmund Burke once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” so here is my contribution to the good guys. I alerted both AOL and Verizon of how the enemy was using them to attempt to scam their customers, and I’m blogging my experience to all of you so that prayerfully, you don’t have to be a victim of this the way I was.
With every experience we have, there are lessons to be learned; and from those lessons learned, we garner wisdom. We will assuredly make other mistakes, but we don’t have to make the same mistakes. Here are some lessons I learned, and I’m passing them on to you so that we can all beware and be aware the next time the enemy comes lurking at our email:
1. You Are Not Alone. One of the first things I sadly became aware of is how common this kind of attack is. It was comforting to know that I am not the only one this has happened to; and there’s life after a hack. Yes, it does feel catastrophic at the time, but God is the God of restoration. Although Satan and his helpers operate under a cloak of deception, God brings all things to light and He says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Romans 12:19). God wants His children to remain in perfect peace, and we do that by turning the situation over to our Daddy. He saw what happened and He says, ‘I got this baby; let it go. What the enemy meant for evil will turn out for your good and my glory.’ From this incident I reconnected with friends I had not heard from in years; and I get to blog this experience to you.
2. When in Doubt, Call Before You Click. I have averted a number of schemes and scams in the past by going to the real source. Companies are only too happy to let you know whether the email was actually from them, or a scam. Being the master counterfeiter that the enemy is, he will replicate a company’s logo and information to make it look like ‘the real McCoy.’ If it seems suspicious, most times it is a fake.
3. Don’t Get Caught Up in Responding to Their Time Demands. Most often when confronted with these types of schemes, they try to appeal to your emotions and get you to act before you think. Always remember, their urgency is not your emergency. Don’t allow yourself to be influenced by their time demands, and never share a password or personal information. Most of the time, if there is some fraudulent activity with your accounts, the bank or company will call you, and you don’t have to give them your information; they have it and will give it to you. When in doubt, do nothing. The worst thing that can happen is you temporarily lose something that the enemy has to ‘pay back seven times what he stole’ (Proverbs 6:31). Encourage yourself with what is a promise from a God who cannot lie, “No weapon formed against you will prosper” (Isaiah 54:17). Satan will shoot his best shot, but you will ultimately have the victory.
4. Change Your Password. Should you become a victim of a hack, change your password immediately. It’s like shutting down the source of the fire so you can then do damage control. I was able to change my password, but not before they reconfigured my email. I guess they were upset that they didn’t get the response they expected, so they redirected my incoming emails to the trash. I thank God for the technical support team of my provider who figured out what was happening and corrected it; but what an inconvenience.
5. Report the Fraud to the Fraud Department of the Company. In these last days and times, fraud has become a lifestyle for some people. This is their job. It seems like weekly we are hearing about security breaches among major big-name companies. Protecting ourselves, our identity, our businesses, and our assets have become a major concern and a sign of the times, but God. I love that ‘but God’ because He puts a comma where the enemy wants to put a period. The Bible informs us that “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Prayer is an atomic bomb to the enemy. We all have this weapon in our arsenal and we need to use it daily. In fact, the Bible advises us to put on our spiritual armor and pray without ceasing. We also need to pray for one another and be open to God’s Spirit guiding us in His way.
It is my prayer that you will keep me in your prayers as I expose the enemy for the deceiver and liar that he is. Take courage and remember, in Christ we have the victory. Please share this vital blog with everyone you know.
Peace and Blessings My Chickadees,
Gail
PS. This is really me.