SCAMMED TO DEBT | KAIROS GLOBAL | OCTOBER 2022

Author: Nobin Jose

Intro: How does one take decisions in a difficult situation? Nobin Jose tells us of an incident.

One evening while I was attending a team meeting, a friend of mine rang me a few times. I rejected the calls so that the meeting wouldn’t be disrupted. Later I got a text, the contents of which was an urgent request for money which I transferred instantly. A few hours later during another zoom call, I received a few calls from the same person which I rejected as well. At the end of the call, I sent my friend a WhatsApp message asking what the matter was. He replied that he needed some more money very urgently, which would be returned that night and so I transferred it immediately. 

It was around midnight, when the same person called me up again. He explained that he was in a very critical situation and needed more funds immediately. I could sense that he was very anxious and tensed but he didn't disclose the matter. I encouraged him to share what the issue was, however based on his situation he couldn't share much. He said that he would call me back after making arrangements for the money needed. With that, he ended the call leaving me very worried. What could have happened to make him panic, looking for funds at midnight?

The next morning, my efforts to contact him went in vain. A few friends also called me asking what had happened to our friend. He had approached them also asking for money urgently, they all sensed that he was in panic and that something unusual had happened to him.

Around noon I called him and he answered the call. I realised that he and his wife were in tears and in great disappointment. In broken words, they explained that they had lost a huge amount of money through an online scam. It was very systematically done and they were trapped in a situation where they had to raise more funds to get back what they initially put into it. So they approached friends, collected a large sum of money but didn't get anything back. They were made to believe that it was a real system so they could not share what was on going to the people asked for funds. I was shocked by what happened to this good family friend. A lot of thoughts passed through my mind: why didn't they share about this last night; how silly was it to believe such scams that were becoming so common, etc. I didn't know how to respond seeing how heavy and broken the hearts of this couple were. I prayed for a while to know what to tell them. Suddenly a thought was given by the Holy Spirit. I told them not to worry about anything and asked them to urgently go and meet a priest, make a confession and get the priest to pray over them. Evil was trying to drown them emotionally with all the heavy losses and the regrets, and more words from me would not be of any help. A priest was who they needed the most at that critical point of time.

They rushed to a priest who used to be a spiritual supporter. By God's abundant grace, the priest was available in his room when they reached. He consoled them, prayed over them and gave an assurance that God would make a way and that God was in control. Slowly, they regained strength to face the situation.

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

God is merciful and opened many new doors to help this couple to solve their issues and clear the debts incurred due to the scam. Later they shared that the visit to the priest was a turning point that helped them make a U-turn while they were severely depressed and disappointed. The ultimate solution to all the problems we face is to turn to Jesus the Lord.

Nobin Jose lives in Singapore with his wife and their three kids.