Apparently, being a scammer is a full-time job for some people, generally in other countries, against unsuspecting Americans – especially those of us who fall into the “senior citizen” category.
They seem to make a lot of money doing this, sadly.
It happened to me last week and I am ashamed of it. However, I thought it was important to tell you about this experience, so perhaps you might be aware of it, and of an ever greater scam floating around.
At our church, we were made aware of an email, reportedly sent out from one of our county officials, a very trusted man, which mentioned that an employee (Mrs. Johnson – likely not a real name) had a baby grand piano – a pianoforte` as they call it she wanted to part with. It was her late husbands piano, and she could not play it, so it had been in storage for a while and it was time to part with it. She was willing to donate it – FREE – to any worthy group such as a church or non-profit – who could use it. It included a photo of a beautiful white piano.
The bait was set on the line.
I contacted Mrs. Johnson by email, not bothering to check with the busy local official. She replied that it was still available but first come, first served. Further it weighed 600 pounds and would need to be professionally delivered and set up. She proposed that I contact the storage and shipping company – The Peter Ferraro Moving and Storage company, so I did. She provided an email address for Mr. Ferraro but I also looked up his company online and reviewed his website, and YELP, and both provided good ratings 4 out of 5 stars. I spoke to Mr. Ferraro, who advised two options, one being delivery the next day (from Glen Allen VA – near Richmond, for about $850, or in a couple of days for $568, which would include setup inside the church.
The hook was set.
I informed him that I would need to discuss this with our church leaders and eventually the entire church since it was a large piece of furniture. Our church agreed that this would be a good item to have and felt the offer was reasonable, after my encouragement.
Upon contacting Mr. Ferraro, again by email, to make arrangements, he indicated they preferred payment by ZELLE (one of the new bank to bank transfer programs) or wire transfer. He reiterated it was first come, first served. This was a red flag that I should have caught. I have bought furniture before however and know they generally want payment before delivery so it was believable.
They reeled me in!
We wired the $568 to Ferraro. The next day I woke to find an email sent about 2:30 AM from him which stated that they didn’t get the money. RED FLAG.
I began to go back through my emails and looked again at the first one from our local official. When I clicked on his name, it showed that it had an email address ending in “.es” which means it was from Spain. They got me! I knew it was a scam.
Despite talking to our local bank (who was very sympathetic), the State Police and our Craig Sherriff’s office, nothing could be done. It wasn’t enough for a felony and it was overseas. Money gone, preacher taken, and I had to apologize to a lot of people. Fortunately, we have a loving, gracious and forgiving church, more than I deserve.
We should all learn a lesson today. As PT Barnum reportedly said, “there’s a sucker born every minute, and two to take him.”
Well, let me tell you about the other scammer. His name is Lucifer.
The Bible in Matthew 22 tells a story about a wedding feast prepared by a King for his son. He sends out the invitation to the elite crowd but those people refused to attend.
Why? Perhaps they did not believe it was real. Perhaps they were too busy. Some didn’t care.
So, the King invites common folk to come to the feast. They come but one of them is wearing the wrong clothes. He kicks the person out, because he is not wearing proper wedding attire.
Matthew reports this… 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
So what is the EVEN GREATER SCAM I was talking about?
You and I have been invited to a wedding feast, the Wedding feast of the Lamb of God. It is the day when Jesus will take His bride (the church). However, some in the church, and many in the world, are not prepared for this wedding. Some don’t have the Royal Robe of Righteousness which is given only to those who believe in Jesus and have made Him their savior and Lord.
You see – the GREATER SCAM is this…. you can be a member of the church Lucifer (the devil, Satan) says to you. You can participate in VBS, church functions, Sunday School, picnics. You can help clean the church and more. Will you be a good person? Yes. Will that get you into heaven? NO!
The Pilgrims who came to America in 1607 brought with them a “work ethic” that said in order to please God you had to work hard and mostly live good lives. IT’S A SCAM!
It’s worse than a Ponzi scheme, a get rich quick scam, a Nigerian scam, a multi-level marketing scheme.
It makes you believe that you can earn your way into heaven.
And, it gives you a false sense that you are not so bad.
However, the Bible says that all are sinners. Have you ever lied, stolen something, looked upon another person in lust? You are a sinner then. Me too.
And as sinners, we need a savior, an intercessor. We need God’s plan, a plan called salvation.
Jesus said it plainly. You MUST be born again! (John 3). No other way.
How, repent of your sins, surrender to Jesus Christ in prayer saying you’re sorry for your sins, become His disciple (join a Bible preaching church, study God’s word with others, and commit yourself to living for Him), and tell others.
What is the true test of whether a person is a disciple? If they share Jesus with others, they are a disciple. If they don’t – they are not. Period.
Jesus said, where your heart is, there will your treasure be also. Love God first, love others after. Follow me, He said, and I will make you fishers of men.
AARP reported this method to avoid scams – CHANGE YOUR THINKING BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!
Join us Thursday Feb. 26th at 6 PM for a free performance by THE KINGSMEN!
A reminder: Our FOOD PANTRY is available to everyone – there is no pre-qualification. Come by the church office on Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 9-12 for a free bag of food!
Craig Valley Baptist Church, next to Bibo’s at 171 Salem Ave in New Castle, welcomes you to visit and share in the forgiveness we have experienced. We meet Sundays at 11AM, with an upbeat service of music, sharing and preaching. You don’t need to dress up, and you won’t be asked to speak, so just come and hang out and meet new and old friends! Questions? Call 540-864-5667 or email pastor@cv-bc.com.
– Pastor Scott Gabrielson
