Another scam targeting East Texas community “spoofing”

TYLER, Texas – Con artists are always looking for new ways to target victims, and the latest scam, called “identity theft,” is circulating in the town of Troup, Texas.

Residents of Troup say they were getting calls from what they believed to be the city asking for their financial information.

The city posted a statement on its Facebook page stating: “It is a scam. The town of Troup never calls or asks for any financial information from anyone.

Better Business Bureau CEO and Chairman Mechele Mills says identity theft has been around since the inception of cell phones.

“It’s kind of an impostor scam and in this case it’s on your phone. Looks like someone you know is calling you, or someone from a familiar area code might be calling you, ”Mills said.

These scammers can also pretend to be people you know or receive daily calls.

“A lot of times, they’ll masquerade as someone trustworthy,” Mills said. “It could be an individual, an official, a company that you know. We see this all the time and so they will come to you in different ways, just to try to gain your trust and get information.”

Mills advises these simple safety strategies to avoid becoming a victim.

“If you recognize when you pick up the phone it’s not someone you recognize, just hang up, or even safer, let that person leave a message and then you decide whether or not you can safely call them back. “said Mills.

Here are three more ways to avoid being scammed:

• If the scammer looks like someone you don’t know calling from a similar caller ID, just hang up.
• If you have an iPhone, you can turn off unknown calls on your phone.
• If they call again, let this scammer leave a message.

Mills also advises you to take immediate action if you are a victim of identity theft.

“If you’ve provided your personal information then you absolutely want to go to your credit report and freeze those things. Call your financial institutions immediately and let them know your information has been compromised,” Mills added.

To learn more about identity theft and how to avoid getting scammed, click here.

If you are a victim of identity theft, call the local Better Business Bureau.