We are living in scary days. The attack by a microscopic coronavirus has aroused a lot of different feelings and reactions among us. In addition, our financial market has become so bad that a lot of people have lost at least a third of their life investments. This has affected everyone, even our seniors who mostly live on a fixed income. To further confuse the issue, our government has developed schemes to halt the spread of the virus and to attempt to bolster the economy. No one knows exactly how these things will turn out, but most people are finding it difficult to live among the issues with optimism.
Most of us are looking for some help from someplace. To that end, I found myself getting text scammed the other day in a way I never expected. I received a note from a Facebook friend from our church who had moved to the West Coast asking if I had received the money the Social Security Department was giving senior citizens. I knew that this was a scam, but my need for assistance and fear of the unknown caused me to ignore my better sense. The text had her picture and all of the information on her Facebook page, so I assumed it was she. I said I had not and she directed me to a Social Security agent who asked me my name and said I was eligible to receive some cash. I guess I was a bit greedy and needy at that point because I suckered for the pitch.
After asking for some personal information (no financial information), he sent me a very formal, official-looking confirmation and suggested that I keep it confidential for security reasons. By then, I woke up. I attempted to contact my friend out West and discovered she had not been contacting me. I was suckered by the Facebook contact information, but there were clues I missed along the way. Social Security does not contact people this way. My friend would not be texting me at 5 a.m. from a nursing home. Shortly thereafter, I began to get a phone call from this agent and I refused. I'm sure at that point he would have liked for me to give him access to my bank account so he could deposit the money -- rather, take my money out of my account.
Watch out for scammers of all kinds! Don't be misled because of personal needs or hopes of help. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true.
The coronavirus has scared us all, and we should be taking our government's suggestions and orders seriously. Unfortunately, some people are refusing to adhere to our governor's guidelines and are continuing on with their lives in a normal way. That's dangerous. We are told to hunker down, stay at home unless absolutely necessary, avoid groups of more than 10 people, wash and disinfect our hands and bodies often, and to maintain at least a six-foot distance from other people. Good advice. If we can just slow down the spread of the virus, it will give us a chance to find a cure or appropriate treatment.
Some groups have continued meeting thinking that since everyone is well known and not sick it must be okay. Unfortunately, they miss some important facts. You do not have to be sick in order to carry the virus. Just think, if someone accidentally came in contact with someone who has the virus and takes it to such a meeting, everyone there might well be infected even if no one was sick at the moment. Since certain people are more susceptible because of other health issues -- e.g. lung problems, diabetic issues, cancer, heart problems, age -- it would be horrible to be the one who infected a friend and then watch that friend die. That has indeed happened on the West Coast and probably in other places as well. This virus can continue to live and infect people from various objects made of wood and metal for up to three days, so who knows who touched those objects recently.
My wife and I have been advised to just hunker down and wait awhile before venturing out into the world. My hope and prayer is for you to do the same thing. I do not want to see one of my friends (or anyone else) become infected and die. It is now predicted that our hospitals will be overwhelmed by the time this article is printed, so there is nowhere to go for help right now in the case of an infection. It's a terrible inconvenience to follow our leaders' guidance, but the alternative is much worse. We need to work together in order to conquer this disease.
-- Robert Box is the former chaplain for the Bella Vista Police Department and is currently the Fire Department chaplain. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 04/01/2020