North Texas Man Falls Victim To Online Job Scam
DFW AIRPORT (CBSDFW.COM) - Thousands of North Texans are looking for jobs right now. Many of them using the internet.
One North Texas man thought he found a great job lead online, but it turned out to be a scam. His story is a warning for any job seeker.
For months, laid off customer services representative Eric Jungbluth has surfed the web trying to find a job. Jungbluth says he was pleasantly surprised when he found an ad for a United Airlines reservations sales agent. "I figured this would be an excellent opportunity."
He says he sent in his resume, then quickly received this email and an application. Jungbluth filled it out, but when he never heard back, he went to the address listed on the email, the DFW Airport administration building.
When he asked about the job posting he found on Craigslist, he was stunned to hear the answer "'Sir, I'm sorry. It was a hoax.' I'm like 'are you kidding me?' That was my first reaction."
Jungbluth says DFW airport police told him he wasn't the only victim of this kind of scam.
United Airlines declined to comment on the case. But the airline is not the only company that has reported phony jobs listed online. "Here I am in my late 30's, unemployed, trying to get a job and the last thing I needed was to get punched in the nose."
Jungbluth was victimized twice. Now, he's worried his identity may be stolen. That's because on what turned out to be this bogus job application, he had to put his personal information, including his birthday and social security number.
"I was scared", Jungbluth says. "I always thought to myself I'm not going to let that happen to me. I know it's not going to happen to me. But I realize I was wrong!"
Jungbluth says his prospects are now looking up. He had a job interview earlier in the day Friday.
"I thank God it was real. I was interviewing with real people at a real company. I feel pretty confident about it."
Jungbluth says he's checked with his bank and credit agencies, and so far, he hasn't experienced any fraud. United Airlines says the only place you can apply for a job is on its website.
