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Again, the devil took
him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and
their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall
down and worship me.” Matt 4:8-9
But I am afraid that,
as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray
from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 2 Cor 11:3
Several years ago, early one September
morning, my cell phone rang. I took the call, coming from the 202
area code (Washington, DC). The man said he was a Postal Service agent, and he
asked, “Is this Cory Collins?” “Yes.” “Did you use your Discover Card ending in
xxxx to open a Click-N-Ship account this morning?” I was suspicious. I said,
“No!” and ended the conversation. The fact is, I didn’t even have
a Discover Card. What was going on?
I phoned the USPS
fraud office later and confirmed that the agent and the call were legitimate. I
called Discover to be sure no one had opened an account there in my name. I
checked my credit report for the same reason. All was clear. Whew! I let it go.
I hoped it was over. I knew, however, that someone had obtained my name, cell
number, and (likely) home address.
Then, about ten days
later, a large Priority Mail envelope arrived at the house. It was “returned to
sender,” and it came to me as if I had sent it! Someone had used my name and
address, pretending to be me, and had mailed this envelope to a “Bill Roach” in
Ventura, CA. The crook (the real sender) had entered Mr. Roach’s address
incorrectly. The envelope could not be delivered, so it was sent back to the
designated sender – me.
Inside was a cashier’s
check, drawn on the Mountain West Bank in Coeur d’Alene, ID, in the amount of
$2,850. The remitter (the person who ordered the check) was named, right or
wrong, as Mathew Anderson, and the payee was Bill Roach (as above). It looked
perfect, even including the watermark and other top security features. I phoned
that bank and described the story and the check. The officer asked for the
remitter’s name and then said, “We know about other checks just like this one,
with this same fake remitter’s name. They are bogus.”
Some scam artists will
offer such fake cashier’s checks in large amounts. They only ask you to send
them a genuine check from your account to cover “taxes” or “shipping and
handling fees.” They then cash your check and pocket your money. When you cash
their bad check it costs them nothing. You may have to pay an additional “bad
check” bank fee.
Satan
is the ultimate “fake remitter,” the original con man. He writes bad checks in
large amounts, hoping to make you pay. Whatever he promises is appealing,
pleasurable, and apparently free. It’s only after you agree to do business with
him that you realize you have lost everything. You’re broke. Bankrupt. And he’s
laughing all the way to the bank.
Ask
Eve (Gen 3:1ff). The serpent’s deal sounded too good to be true. And it was.
Lost souls in hell would tell you the same. Scripture says, “Don’t give the
devil a foothold” (Eph 4:26-27). Don’t cash Satan’s check. He’ll rob you blind.
Cory
Collins
