TYLER — The Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas is warning consumers about a scam which is targeting East Texas consumers. Consumers have reported receiving calls which appear to be from local area businesses, but BBB believes the calls are coming from overseas. Callers have likely purchased lists of cell and home phone numbers, or use robocall capabilities to randomly dial. Using a technique called “spoofing”, scam artists attempt to trick customers into thinking a legitimate East Texas business is calling. BBB officials say the East Texas area has been flooded with these calls in the last few days. BBB is advising consumers to use caution when providing information over the phone. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the scam works: Your phone rings; the number looks familiar. When the call is answered, a computerized voice claims to have methods to lower your credit card interest rates, which of course, means the caller requires a credit card number. \u201cTechnology has made it easier and provided new options for scammers. Using software to dial over the internet, criminals can make any business name and phone number show up on caller ID,\u201d said Mechele Agbayani Mills, President and CEO of BBB Serving Central East Texas. \u201cBy hijacking the names and phone numbers of companies with which you are familiar, the callers attempt to gain your trust in hopes they can trick you into handing over important financial information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before responding to unsolicited phone calls, BBB advises the following:<\/p>\n
– Never give out any financial information. If you did not initiate the call, do not provide bank account, credit card or Social Security numbers over the phone unless you have thoroughly done your research and verified the caller.<\/p>\n
– Don\u2019t rely on caller ID. Scammers can use technology to make it appear as though their calls are coming from legitimate businesses or organizations. <\/p>\n
– Trust your instincts. If something doesn\u2019t seem right to you, end the call.<\/p>\n
– If you receive one of these scam calls, hang up and report it to BBB so they can warn other East Texas area phone users. Go to http:\/\/www.bbb.org<\/a> for more information on how to be a savvy consumer. To report fraudulent activity or unscrupulous activity, please call the BBB Hotline: (903) 581-8373. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" TYLER — The Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas is warning consumers about a scam which is targeting East Texas consumers. Consumers have reported receiving calls which appear to be from local area businesses, but BBB believes the calls are coming from overseas. Callers have likely purchased lists of cell and home phone numbers, … Continue reading Spoofing Scam Hits East Texas Residents<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-303484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-archive-archives"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-11 06:56:51","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=303484"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303485,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303484\/revisions\/303485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=303484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=303484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=303484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}