Almost persuaded

How I dealt with a deceiver

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” - Ephesians 5:6

DECEPTION

(This is a true story. The names have been withheld to protect the guilty).

Throughout my long career, I have drawn commissioned work for individuals — freelance cartoons. Thanks to my internet exposure, many of my clients were strangers. Which is fine, as long as the check clears the bank.

Well, recently I was contacted by a stranger who wanted to commission me for some illustrations. The budget was good, the work was easy for me and this person had a sponsor who was going to pay the whole amount upfront.

Red flag number 1 — I couldn’t find any online presence for this person.

Red flag number 2 — She said that she was limited to texting or emails since she has apraxia of speech (a brain disorder making speech difficult).

Red flag number 3 — Every email she sent she said, “Hello Gary.” That seemed odd.

Red flag number 4 — She emails me to inform me that the check was delivered and wanted to know as soon as I deposited the check. Again, that seemed odd.

Red flag number 5 — The check was from a company in Texas but it was shipped from an address in Washington state.

The following day, the check posted in my bank and I sketched my first drawing and emailed it to her for feedback. She loved it, so I finished the drawing in a couple of hours and emailed the final artwork (the first of 10 drawings) per her specifications.

Then I left home for 3 hours. When I arrived home and checked my email, this person had emailed me wanting to know if I was ignoring her emails and that we were about to lose the project. I didn’t see any emails from her in my inbox but when I found them in my spam folder.

That email said her sponsor for the project had originally wanted 2 phases of work from me (5 drawings each) but had decided not to proceed with the second phase. She wanted me to purchase a cashiers check for half of the amount I was paid and overnight it to an address in Tennessee. And she wanted me to do this immediately.

Big red flag number 6 — Why the big hurry? And why did she want me to send thousands of dollars, to a different person in a different state?

At this point I checked my bank to see if the check she sent me had cleared. And as you probably guessed, the check had been withdrawn. It bounced. When I told the client that the check had bounced she texted. “Bounced how? No it’s not. How did the check bounce?”

I called my bank and found out that the check I received was a fictitious check. There were no funds in their bank.

Thankfully, I saw through her deception. Granted I was slow to catch on but at least I didn’t give her good money for a fake check.

I prayed for the Lord protection before I accepted the job. And I think it’s interesting that although we had emailed each other several times, that her email asking me to refund half of the money went to my spam folder and I didn’t see it until late in the day (after business hours).

So this is my prayer for this person (male or female, I don’t know): Lord, I pray that this person’s conscience would come under heavy conviction for their deception. I pray that guilt will make them miserable until they turn to Jesus for salvation.

John 16:8 says, “And when he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

Love is not affirming sinful behavior. Love is warning people of the coming judgment.

I also reported this to law enforcement.

EPILOGUE:

The word “deceive” appears in the Bible 67 times. Eve was deceived in the Garden, Abraham deceived Pharaoh, Jacob deceived his father, Judas deceived the other disciples, we were deceived by the Russian Hoax, and Hunter Biden laptop is Russian disinformation lie… Everyone who has ever lived has faced deception and many times we even deceive ourselves.

We live in an age of fake news, misinformation, disinformation and suppressed information. It’s getting harder and harder to believe what we read or hear from mainstream media and politicians.

The Bible says in Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord…”

And Jesus said, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

When people lie, they are acting like their father the devil. That is a sobering thought.

As you go about the rest of your day remember, Do not be deceived.

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