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The Lone Star State’s economy has historically been unwavering even in the worst of times, as the national unemployment rate rises, Texas remains stable. It’s a trend dubbed “the Texas Miracle” by the state’s bigwigs. Almost weekly, Gov. Greg Abbott boasts about his state while the nation as a whole experiences a lessening supply of jobs.
“Texas is the No. 1 state in the nation for job creation because Texas moves at the speed of business,” Abbott wrote in a May 21 press release. “That is why Texas employers have added more than 2.5 million jobs since I’ve been Governor.”
It’s a scary time to be unemployed, but with a large portion of the tech sector relocating their headquarters to Texas and Dallas, particularly, remaining a dominant force in corporate America, there is no shortage of Texas companies hiring. However, the abundance of job opportunities in Texas creates a large opportunity for scammers to prey on a vulnerable community: the unemployed. According to a recent study from BackOffice Pro, the state has the second-highest rate of reported job scams, costing Texans $94,416 in the first four months of 2025 alone.
“The issue isn’t just that scams are happening-it’s that more people are falling for them despite stronger awareness campaigns,” said Israel Paul, head of human resources at BackOffice Pro in the study. “We’re dealing with a volume problem.”
The largest employer in the United States, the federal government, has been steadily decreasing its workforce through a series of controversial mass layoffs under the guidance of the Trump administration. But the feds aren’t the only employer reducing their workforce. According to monthly reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the unemployment rate was 4.2% in April 2025, 0.3% higher than April 2024 and 0.8% higher than April 2023, when unemployment was at a 50-year low.
Employment scams can include fraudulent job offers to collect personal data or costly training sessions for jobs that don’t exist. According to BackOffice Pro, the nature of these scams allows for localized targeting and often impacts entry-level candidates and remote workers.
“Employment scams aren’t just a cyber issue-they’re a workforce readiness issue,” said Paul. “We need smarter defenses that meet people where they’re vulnerable-at the moment of opportunity.”
Total job-scame related losses across the country in the first quarter of 2025 totaled just under $2,750,000, with the most significant damage reported in California at $531,000. While Texas has one of the lower shares of the total loss report, Paul says the impact is still strong.
“In some states, the average scam value may seem low, but the total impact adds up fast,” explains Paul. “These scams are volume-driven, not just high-dollar hits.”
But aside from financial issues, Paul says the real damage of the scams is the emotional impact.
“What makes these scams so harmful is the timing,” said Israel Paul, head of human resources at BackOffice Pro in the study. “They target people at vulnerable moments, when they’re searching for stability.”
