Tuesday Brief | 2023 October 24

October 24, 2023 A friend of mine recently had his email address hacked in some measure, and the perpetrator sent emails to people in his contact list asking for advice on how best to appreciate his work teams, suggesting that maybe gift cards from Amazon or Target might be a good idea.

It was malicious phishing, seeking someone to respond that would then be a target asking them to purchase gift cards for him, with some story about why he could not do it himself, but would surely reimburse them for the purchase.

So, I thought it would be good to make sure you knew that you will never - - - ABSOLUTELY NEVER - - - receive an email from me or an EMC official, asking you to purchase gift cards or any such thing, due to us being in a bind somewhere, or having been whisked off to jail, or being held against our will in some foreign country.

I know you already knew that, but I thought I’d make doubly sure!!

Scams are not new, they just change tactics depending on time, opportunity, and culture. Imposters pose as colleagues, friends, neighbors, and family members. Some of these hoaxes are quite sophisticated. Be on the lookout for and just ignore those things that promise financial rewards too good to be true. Don’t click on links that you are not sure are legitimate connections. When in doubt, reach out to the person that the information is “supposedly” from using your own known contact information, not what is in the suspicious email or text.

The fact is, there are many imposters in the world, and many of them are peddling damaging spiritual information that will do more harm than empty your wallet. We are warned against false messiahs; false teachers; and all heresy that is inconsistent with God’s truth.

The WORD of GOD is the standard we can check these “scams” against. Jesus and his disciples warned us that there would be many claiming to be worthy of our belief or worship. DO NOT FALL FOR IT. There is only one worthy of our adoration: the LORD of the Universe … Father, Son, and Spirit. The more that we saturate ourselves in the Scripture, the more able we will be to see if something even passes the “smell test.” Would any of us be OK with a little bit of poison being mixed into our dinner? Don’t think so.

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14