Identity Theft

A few weeks ago I preached a sermon on identity theft. Its purpose was to help us realize that Satan's job is to steal the identity that we have been given by Christ. I told a story about how we had $2000 stolen from us back in 1999 due to identity theft. Well lightning does strike in the same place twice.

I was at the grocery store on Tuesday attempting to purchase a few snacks for the night. My total came to $7.38. My debit card was immeadiately rejected. I thought it was just a glitch so I swiped it about 10 more times (Yes I am persistent). Well I returned home to call my bank and Dana tells me that the bank had called while I was gone. This was not a good sign. The bank asked me where I had been today and what I bought. I went through my day and they determined that it was not me who spent several hundred dollars in Mexico on clothing that day. Since my checking and short term savings account are linked together I was wiped clean. I was broke and did not even get a chance to enjoy it.

I do my fair share of online shopping so I knew that this was always a possibility. My advice to all of you is to be very careful online and only purchase items from well known internet vendors. This will not totally protect you, but it is a good place to start.