Jul. 19, 2006 - It Can't Happen to Me

Have you ever read stories about financial scams and wondered what kind of people get taken in by them?  Here are three posts to refresh your memory:

• Too Good to Be True?
• Think Before you Leap
• Ponzi Schemes

I'll bet you've often thought that such things couldn't happen to you.  I sure don't think they could happen to me.  But they do happen to some very good, intelligent people who should know better.  How?  It's partly because of the subtle lure of greed but other times it's out of desperation and ignorance.

If you've been following the news over the past few months, then you might have heard about the Winkler family in Selmer, Tennessee.  It was there on March 22, 2006, that Mary Winkler shot and killed her husband Matthew Winkler in their bedroom.  Matthew was the popular pastor of the Fourth Street Church of Christ and from all appearances, the Winklers were the "perfect" Christian family.  After the shooting, Mary fled with their three young daughters to Alabama where she was arrested on March 23.  What a tragic story!

As details have emerged behind a motive in the killing, it has become clear that money was a central issue straining the Winkler's marriage.  Some of that financial stress, and perhaps the catalyst behind the murder, was due to the Winklers having been taken in by scammers that promised them wealth.

While this latest development in the case is unpleasant, it is worth reading so that you can appreciate the allure and gravity of financial scams.  They can literally be deadly.  That's why you must always be on your guard.

None of us believes it can happen to us.  But it does happen to some really nice folks.  Sometimes it ends tragically.

By pointing this out, maybe there is someone out there who may yet be saved from the pain and suffering of the Winkler family -- whether that be the loss of money or even a life.

Perhaps Matthew Winkler's experience and death will not be in vain.