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Heartwings Love Notes 813 - Desire can cloud your Perception

Heartwings says, "Your mind may keep you from seeing what is."

Stephen sounded excited. "Our friend says he got a grant for $300,000. He's sending me the link." I was immediately suspicious. "Tell me more," I replied. Someone he knew had sent Stephen a message from Facebook telling him he could have a large sum of money, no problem, just apply for this grant and it would be his. He went on to say, "I have already receive (sic) my money." I immediately noticed the incorrect grammar and pointed it out to Stephen. "Oh, he said, probably just a slip of the pen," he responded. "I do that kind of thing all the time." I was still suspicious.

We agreed that I would check out this link—it was on Facebook, and so I did. What came up was a woman with a pleasant face and a picture of an audience in an auditorium with a sign on the stage about grants. The woman told me that all I had to do was answer a few questions and the money would be mine. To make a long story short I gave false answers to her questions—all seeking personal information, and was eventually told that I had to send just a little money—the amount depended on how much I would like for my "grant" and I'd be all set.

When I pleaded poverty she asked me how much I could come up with and when I said "nothing" she offered to get me a loan. At that point I deleted the messages, defriended and blocked the site, and reported it. Not to our surprise found out that our friend's site had been hacked. We were fortunate Stephen believed my suspicions. In my experience you do not receive large sums of money for nothing. However had I been eager to receive it just for signing up for it, I might have been fooled and given out valuable information to crooks.

I am fortunate in that I feel I have sufficient money for my needs, if not for my wants. This makes me less likely to fall into the trap this experience presented. If not, I too might have dismissed this grammatical mistake and perhaps even several others that came with further conversation. It is easy to mislead someone who wants something badly and of course the offer came from someone we know and so seemed much more legitimate that some "prince" from Nigeria or fake lottery winnings that someone is supposedly handing over. However the bottom line is that the eyes with which I regarded this offer were not clouded with the desire to receive it.

May you see clearly if someone is trying to trick you..
 

I love to hear from readers and would be honored if you would comment and let me know any suggestions or thoughts. If a friend sent you this, you can sign up at my web site, www.heartwingslovenotes.com, where more love notes can be found in the archives.

Blessings and Best Regards,
Tasha Halpert
 

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