Hacked!
It was a normal Friday afternoon a few weeks ago and I was giving my weekly Lunch and Learn class via Zoom. (Allow me the liberty of taking a minute of gratuitous self-promotion. I give a weekly Lunch and Learn class for JFX at 12:30 on a variety of topics and am always eager to welcome new attendees! Feel free to inquire about additional information.)
During the class I had my cellphone on my desk next to me. Suddenly I saw on the screen that someone was calling me. The caller ID showed it was an old classmate of mine who I haven’t spoken to in about a year. “That’s random,” I thought to myself as I hit ignore and continued with my class.
About 10 seconds later I saw my phone ring again. This time it was an acquaintance of mine who I pretty much only talk to when I bump into on the street. Once again I hit ignore and continued with my class. No more than 30 seconds later I saw someone else trying me, again a casual friend. “This is really bizarre,” I thought as I tried to focus on my presentation. When the phone rang again within a minute I knew something was up.
Asking forgiveness from the class participants I picked up my phone to see what was going on. I saw that in addition to the missed phone calls I had several text messages, emails and voicemails, all asking me if I needed something from them.
I looked at one of the emails and saw that my email account had been hacked and the perpetrator was reaching out to my contacts asking if they can please call “me” as “I” had a favor to ask from them. Most people were unsure if it was legit so they reached out to me via phone. Those who responded to the hacker via email were sent another email asking them to do “me” a favor and buy “my nephew” a $300 gift card from GameStop. At that point, those who might have thought it was really me realized it was not (for one, I have a ton of nephews so they would be lucky if I bought them a custard doughnut for their birthdays, and there is no chance I would get them a $300 gift card! Besides, it wasn’t exactly the most plausible story for the scammer to try and pull off on anyone). I will say there is a friend who was pretty sure it was a scam but on the chance that it was real she did text me that she would be happy to buy it for me if I texted her details. Bless her heart!
I turned my attention back to my class and explained what happened as I tried to finish off the class. My best efforts to do so were impeded by the incessant buzzing of my phone so, with only a few minutes left anyways, I cut the class short so that I could start getting back to everyone who had reached out to me.
I promptly went to my email account and changed the password, while for the next several hours my phone and email inbox were in a constant state of activity with contacts of mine – some close friends, others casual acquaintances, and others whom I have not spoken to in ages – reaching out to me to ask me if I needed something. It got to a point where when my phone would ring I would just answer right away by saying, “I am guessing you are calling in response to the email…” (That didn’t go over so well when my wife tried calling me.) Despite it being a frustrating experience, there was a silver lining in that I had the opportunity to speak and connect with friends whom I had not done so with for quite some time!
The calls and emails continued into the early stages of the following week until they finally ceased.
That Shabbat I recounted to my family the day’s event at the Shabbat table and it became the topic of our discussion. I was primarily focused on the frustration of the entire saga, but my wife Miriam pointed out a different perspective. “Isn’t it nice how many people you have in your life that care enough about you that when receiving an email, even a dubious one, took the time to reach out to you to see if you truly needed a favor from them?” Indeed, this was an angle I had not considered! Upon further reflection, it dawned on me that it was actually quite heartwarming. We go through life and our circle of friends and contacts continues to expand but so often those are no deeper than becoming “friends” on Facebook. How many of our “friends” are truly friends, in the real sense of the word? In the way that the term meant prior to the advent of social media? It is gratifying, comforting, and heartwarming to see that I had so many people, even many whom I do not have that much to do with, reaching out as a true friend to see if they perhaps could be of assistance to me. It was a wakeup call for me to make sure I act as a true friend to others as well.
One other thought I had: There are thousands of low-lives like the criminal that hacked into my email who prey upon the innocent and naïve. These people are undoubtedly talented and smart as evidenced by the schemes they concoct. They could be using those talents to earn a living in an honest and wholesome manner yet they choose instead to take those very G-d given talents and use them for nefarious purposes. “How low and despicable of them!” I thought. And indeed they are deplorable. But can any of us say we are not guilty of the same duplicity in some form or another? Let me explain.
In this week’s Torah portion we read the “Tochacha” – the portion of the Torah in which G-d forewarns us that if we keep His Torah and observe the mitzvot then we will be blessed, but if we stray from His commandments we will suffer various forms of exile and tragedy. Indeed, both sides of these promises have been fulfilled to the letter throughout our history. We've experienced times of bounty and blessing when we act in accordance with the Torah’s mandate and, alas, exile and suffering when we have not.
In the middle of the section detailing the areas in which the Jewish nation has failed and wrought destruction upon ourselves, the Torah says these calamities will befall us “because we failed to serve G-d with happiness and gladness of heart when we were given all kinds of good things from G-d.” One of the points the Torah is making is that G-d bestows blessing upon His children and, instead of utilizing those blessings for the purpose of serving Him, we use them to flout His will. Take this for example: a person is blessed with financial stability. This money is given to him by his Creator and can be a tremendous tool with which to serve G-d through giving charity and spending on mitzvot such as paying for his children’s Jewish education or buying kosher food. Instead, a person does not give charity and uses that money to buy things that run contrary to a spiritual lifestyle. This is but one example of the idea I wish to convey. There are numerous other ones but space constraints dictate that I leave it up to the individual reader to reflect on areas where each of us may find that we succumb to this trap that the Torah warns against. It is bad enough if we do the wrong thing, but it is a far greater indictment when we use the very tools and blessings that G-d gives us and use them against Him.
Much like the hacker who used his (or her) G-d given talents which could have been used for good but instead was put to use in an effort to try and steal from unsuspecting victims, we (albeit on a far smaller and unintentional level) often are guilty of doing the same.
As we move ever so closer to the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the time of year which we engage in self-reflection and introspection, we would be wise to use the words of this week’s Torah portion to see if there are areas in our lives which might need adjusting according to these standards.
And if you would be so kind as to buy a $300 gift card for me after Shabbat, please give me a call. I have approximately 50 nephews and can really use the help!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Koval
