Scammer Calls

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1.7 NKJV).

We were driving home from a trip, and my phone started sending me alerts with Google verification codes. Then I get a phone call from my bank. The woman explained that someone from Florida was trying to hack into my bank account. I had just made reservations via a Bed and Breakfast app for a week-long stay for our family in Florida. The App needed my driver’s license to confirm the dates, so I thought someone from the app or the B&B was trying to hack into my account. The woman on the line continued warning me about the dangers of hackers. Then she asked for the verification code. I gave it to her. Then she asked for another one, which I gave to her. Finally, she asked me for my bank account online access password. I explained I had forgotten it. My husband does all the online banking, so I only knew my PIN for my debit card, which I gave her. We got off the phone, and she called me back five minutes later. Again, she asked for more verification codes. Sometime during our conversation, my husband called our bank and explained what was happening. Finally, they realized I had been talking to the hackers all along. The woman who kept trying to get my access password was the hacker! Her mention of hackers from Florida was purely coincidental, and it caused me to believe the hacker’s lies. In the same way, the enemy will lie to us in many ways, and sometimes, he’ll hit on a “coincidence” that creates in us a fear-based reality that is not true. The truth is that Satan is the hacker, and he’ll use fear and a pinch of truth to bully us, cause fear in us and to make us give up what is rightfully ours through Jesus Christ. He wants to gain access to our authority, and only we can give it to him. Whenever fear comes into play, we must always check our spirit. God is not a God of fear but of peace and a sound mind. When peace is not present, we know that the hacker is lying and scheming.

Have you ever been “hacked” by the enemy with a pinch of truth and a bunch of lies? Did you feel pressured, worried, fearful and confused? How can calming our minds and centering our thoughts on the Holy Spirit stop the noise of the enemy?