It's Tuesday of OU/texas week and I see a friend of mine offering OU/texas game tickets on Facebook. I ask her about them and how much they were and some of the other usual questions you would ask. Chris and I call my parents and decide we should go for it. Come to find out my friend did not have the tickets in her hand and was just looking for someone to go with her and then she would go and pay for the tickets. At that point we were not sure if she would even get the tickets so I decided to look elsewhere. I looked on Craigslist and found several options and responded to their ad on Craigslist. On Wednesday morning I got a response from a guy offering to sell his 4 tickets for $500. That would be very cheap price per ticket ($125) and the face value of the cheapest ticket for OU/texas is about $150. I called my parents and they were in so I pursued it.
The seller said he was going out of town and that is why he could not use his tickets. We emailed back and forth and he seemed like a really stand up guy. I mentioned being a school teacher and he said "My wife is a school teacher". He said he was an OU graduate from 1970s and loved OU but could not use his tickets. He wanted to go through Ebay to sell the tickets and then Western Union to pay for the tickets. No red flags came up in my head and I thought Western Union would be safer than paying with a credit card online and even safer than meeting someone and paying cash (You hear horror stories of people meeting at Starbucks and paying their money and then the seller tries to do something to them and what not). Actually, when I called my friend to tell her we were declining her tickets she reinforced this idea in my mind when she said "I always get my OU/texas tickets through Craigslist EVERY year and never go and pick them up. I always pay online or through Western Union. What if that person was going to harm you when you go and pick them up?" She brought up a valid point and I felt better about my situation. Still as I made my way to the bank to send the money through Western Union, I kept pondering the situation and its' possible outcomes. However, the underlying desire and urge to go to another OU/texas game and be able to go with Chris and my DAD was too much. I went ahead and got the cash out and sent the money to London where the guys was going out of town on business.
The seller was supposed to UPS overnight these tickets on Wednesday and I was supposed to get them on Thursday morning. He did not get a tracking number from UPS (Or so he said to me via email) so he was unable to get one to me. Thursday morning passed and still no tickets. I began to get worried but I kept hearing that voice inside my head saying "This is a trust issue... God will take care of you. Don't give into the devil and begin to worry". (If you don't know me... I worry alot and I often times get so wrapped up into the "what ifs" that I forget that God is there to help me and get me through whatever I may be going through at the time.)
The afternoon passed at school and I thought I would call UPS to see if maybe they delivered it to a neighbor or something. The package was not even in their system. Of course without a tracking number they could not totally help me or find the package. I began to really panic and get paranoid. I looked up Ebay's contact phone and called them. They had no record of me purchasing anything from them. I frantically said "No really I have the email confirmation from Ebay right here". The service agent put me on hold and got a supervisor and said "That is not a VALID Ebay email". The supervisor told me I had been scammed and to call the police and Western Union Fraud.
I did just that and I called Western Union Fraud. Of course, the money was picked up in London on Thursday morning (London time) and since it HAD BEEN PICKED UP... Western Union could not replace the $500. They told me to contact the FBI, my Attorney General and State police. (I now was crying and frantically trying to write all this down all while feeling I am in a CSI case or something). I called my bank to see if they would cover the $500 or if I had any protection against something like this and their response was "Well, since it is Western Union and you paid cash, we don't have any coverage or protection." Now the good news in all of this is that he just took $500. Of course, I will never see that $500 again and that really stings but he DID NOT get into my bank account or anything else.
I cried and cried and called my mom needed a "Mommy moment" as I like to call them and she was a big help and comfort. But this just goes to show that no matter what, there really is just ONE PERSON YOU CAN TRUST. This person is God. God will never leave you or forsake you. God will never scam you or trick you. In fact in my time of trouble yesterday afternoon, I heard God speak to me and say "Kellie, it is just $500." Now Chris on the other hand... he said no such thing! There are many lessons we learn in life (Trust me... I have learned MANY A LESSON); some are emotionally hard, some are physically hard and some are financially hard. I thank God that this lesson was learned when both CHRIS and I have jobs and we were not broke and destitute like we were just 3 months ago.
If you are facing a lesson in life right now and you need guidance and help... Look to God. He can help you and protect you. He is your coverage and protection. He will save you. I a drawn to the hymn "Only Trust Him" and its words:
My Jesus shed His precious blood
Rich blessings to bestow
Plunge now into the Crimson flood
That washes white as snow
Only Trust Him
Only Trust Him
Only Trust Him now...
The seller said he was going out of town and that is why he could not use his tickets. We emailed back and forth and he seemed like a really stand up guy. I mentioned being a school teacher and he said "My wife is a school teacher". He said he was an OU graduate from 1970s and loved OU but could not use his tickets. He wanted to go through Ebay to sell the tickets and then Western Union to pay for the tickets. No red flags came up in my head and I thought Western Union would be safer than paying with a credit card online and even safer than meeting someone and paying cash (You hear horror stories of people meeting at Starbucks and paying their money and then the seller tries to do something to them and what not). Actually, when I called my friend to tell her we were declining her tickets she reinforced this idea in my mind when she said "I always get my OU/texas tickets through Craigslist EVERY year and never go and pick them up. I always pay online or through Western Union. What if that person was going to harm you when you go and pick them up?" She brought up a valid point and I felt better about my situation. Still as I made my way to the bank to send the money through Western Union, I kept pondering the situation and its' possible outcomes. However, the underlying desire and urge to go to another OU/texas game and be able to go with Chris and my DAD was too much. I went ahead and got the cash out and sent the money to London where the guys was going out of town on business.
The seller was supposed to UPS overnight these tickets on Wednesday and I was supposed to get them on Thursday morning. He did not get a tracking number from UPS (Or so he said to me via email) so he was unable to get one to me. Thursday morning passed and still no tickets. I began to get worried but I kept hearing that voice inside my head saying "This is a trust issue... God will take care of you. Don't give into the devil and begin to worry". (If you don't know me... I worry alot and I often times get so wrapped up into the "what ifs" that I forget that God is there to help me and get me through whatever I may be going through at the time.)
The afternoon passed at school and I thought I would call UPS to see if maybe they delivered it to a neighbor or something. The package was not even in their system. Of course without a tracking number they could not totally help me or find the package. I began to really panic and get paranoid. I looked up Ebay's contact phone and called them. They had no record of me purchasing anything from them. I frantically said "No really I have the email confirmation from Ebay right here". The service agent put me on hold and got a supervisor and said "That is not a VALID Ebay email". The supervisor told me I had been scammed and to call the police and Western Union Fraud.
I did just that and I called Western Union Fraud. Of course, the money was picked up in London on Thursday morning (London time) and since it HAD BEEN PICKED UP... Western Union could not replace the $500. They told me to contact the FBI, my Attorney General and State police. (I now was crying and frantically trying to write all this down all while feeling I am in a CSI case or something). I called my bank to see if they would cover the $500 or if I had any protection against something like this and their response was "Well, since it is Western Union and you paid cash, we don't have any coverage or protection." Now the good news in all of this is that he just took $500. Of course, I will never see that $500 again and that really stings but he DID NOT get into my bank account or anything else.
I cried and cried and called my mom needed a "Mommy moment" as I like to call them and she was a big help and comfort. But this just goes to show that no matter what, there really is just ONE PERSON YOU CAN TRUST. This person is God. God will never leave you or forsake you. God will never scam you or trick you. In fact in my time of trouble yesterday afternoon, I heard God speak to me and say "Kellie, it is just $500." Now Chris on the other hand... he said no such thing! There are many lessons we learn in life (Trust me... I have learned MANY A LESSON); some are emotionally hard, some are physically hard and some are financially hard. I thank God that this lesson was learned when both CHRIS and I have jobs and we were not broke and destitute like we were just 3 months ago.
If you are facing a lesson in life right now and you need guidance and help... Look to God. He can help you and protect you. He is your coverage and protection. He will save you. I a drawn to the hymn "Only Trust Him" and its words:
My Jesus shed His precious blood
Rich blessings to bestow
Plunge now into the Crimson flood
That washes white as snow
Only Trust Him
Only Trust Him
Only Trust Him now...
He will Save you
He will Save you
He will Save you
He will Save you now!
Will you turn to him in your time of need? Will you trust Him?
I thank you Lord for being my coverage and protection in times of need and hurt. Thank you for saving ME and washing me white as snow. Please guide me and protect me. I love You, Lord.
May God bless you and your family!
Will you turn to him in your time of need? Will you trust Him?
I thank you Lord for being my coverage and protection in times of need and hurt. Thank you for saving ME and washing me white as snow. Please guide me and protect me. I love You, Lord.
May God bless you and your family!
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