Warning About Job Scams in East Texas: ‘They Want to Play on Your Emotions’

For people in Longview and Tyler, Texas who are looking for work, please be on the lookout for darkly creative scam artists.

We try to share with you all of the scams we hear about in the hopes that by sharing, we may be able to alert you to some of the red flags flying that are beckoning East Texas people who are seeking employment. But instead of a job, they're being conned into divulging personal information that allows scammers to get access to their bank accounts.

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How exactly do these scams work to deceive people in East Texas?

Just the other day, a friend of mine and I were talking about seeing online application scams they'd heard about happening in East Texas. AGAIN.

KETK shared a report earlier this year regarding what they've learned from community leaders about what they're seeing in East Texas. One impactful statement made by Mechelle Mills, who is the President and CEO of the Central East Texas Better Business Bureau, takes a look at the manipulative way this scam "works."

Mills said, "Typically what they want to do is they want to play on your emotions and if you’re in desperate need of a job, you can be emotionally charged by that and they will take advantage of that."

"They want to play on your emotions." ~Mechelle Mills, Central East Texas BBB

That may be truly sickening to the majority of East Texans who seek to live with integrity and regard for others. But that's how they attempt to deceive you.

Online applications, though perhaps helpful in some situations, aren't helping in this regard.

We don't have to tell you that the cost of living continues to rise. And that is causing more and more people to seek work. Granted, that may come as a surprise to some who feel that there's a substantial number of people who don't seem to want to work. But that's the data.

Since more job postings are showing up online, due to third-party companies doing the hiring for some companies, not to mention the surge of online applications, it can be more difficult to decipher the real from the faux, reports KETK.

A few of the red flags to look out for?

If you come across a job posting that seems almost TOO perfect, guess what? Yeah, it likely is. Right now, you need to commit to doing a little extra research and maybe contact the company to double-check the job is legitimate.

Do not, do not, DO NOT ever divulge your personal information online--especially if you've not been hired. Honestly, if it were me, I would wait to physically be present at the company before offering the private info we share with (legitimate) employers.

And please be careful. It's worth doing a little extra research to avoid becoming scammed.

Have you come across any suspicious potential scams in East Texas that you'd like to share? Send me an email: tara.holley@townsquaremedia.com.