The Gibeonite’s Scam - Scam Alert!

Joshua 9:3-14

Jos 9:3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? 9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. 14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. 15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

Introduction: The story of the Gibeonites is important because it was the last hurdle the Israelites faced before entering Canaan. The success of Joshua's army hit a bump in the road after meeting their tricky neighbors. After this incident the rest of the way was smooth sailing. Before and after this incident, no individual, tribe or nation could withstand the Israelites' onslaught. This time is the only time the new generation failed to rely on God and Joshua stumbled in his leadership. Why do people lose their guard? What keeps people alert? How do we keep focused? God’s instructions were clear, how could this have happened?

The onslaught of misinformation, half truths and fake news are confusing many today. Many Seniors have the perception that a high percentage of fraud situations perpetrated on them are related to the unlicensed contractor who takes a down payment or advance payment and never shows up, or the lawn service that takes a year’s fee in advance and then disappears, or the door-to-door solicitor who executes false documents just to gain access to personal information. Certainly, there are quite a few of these types of cases, but the off-shore element of this crime wave is becoming more and more organized and has evolved to the level of a major threat to older Americans. I have talked to several persons who thought it could never happen to them. A little over two years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice formally announced the formation of its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force initiative, setting up an agency that “investigates and prosecutes individuals and organizations engaged in foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors.”

There is a long list scams out there. These include telemarketing, mass-mailing, and tech-support fraud schemes. One of the recent publications launched by the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force spells out the most frequent fraud situations faced by seniors: Social Security Administration Imposter Scam, with such trickery, perpetrators convince victims to give up their Social Security numbers and other personal information. Tech Support Scam, Fraudsters make telephone calls and claim to be computer technicians associated with a well-known company or they may use internet pop-up messages to warn about non-existent computer problems. Refund scheme Perpetrators claim to send refund money to the victim’s bank account but falsely claim that too much money was refunded. Lottery Scam “Winners” need only pay fees for shipping, insurance, customs duties, or taxes before they can claim their prizes. IRS Imposter Scam IRS Imposter Scams are aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS but are not. One of the fastest growing is Romance Scams - Millions of lonely Americans use dating sites, social networking sites, and chat rooms to meet people. And many develop successful relationships, while scammers use these sites to meet potential victims. They create fake profiles to build online relationships, and eventually convince people to send money in the name of love. One of the safest things to do to investigate for truth: never give out personal information or send money.