St. Martin Sheriff Warns Residents About Employment Scams

As more Acadiana residents return to work or begin looking for new jobs, scammers are targeting them in hopes of stealing their money or personal information.

St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux is sounding the alarm about those scammers, urging residents to use caution when dealing with headhunters who reach out to them claiming they have work.

"They want to go back to work, and the first place they are looking for one is online," Breaux told KATC. "It's disappointing that our people, our citizens of Louisiana, have to put up with these scams and give their hard-earned money to someone who is sitting down at a computer just taking advantage of them."

Breaux says those scammers will ask for your home address, social security number, and/or bank account information in order to secure a job interview. That information, Breaux says, should only be given to an employer after a job has been secured and the hiring onboarding process has begun.

According to Breaux, a St. Martin Parish resident fell victim to an employment scam three times before realizing something was wrong.

"When they start getting into more personal information like your social security number, your address and your bank account information, that should draw up a red flag," Breaux said.

If you think you have been targeted by scammers or have been the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement office. For more details about current scams and what you can do to keep yourself and your information safe, click here.