A Free Public Service

SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California.

December 6, 2021

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SCAMS

Courtesy Scambusters

Millions of unemployment insurance claimants are being targeted across the US in nationwide phishing schemes. Imposters are believed to have netted as much as $36 billion. There are even how-to-scam unemployment insurance guides shared in anonymous messaging apps.

The scam starts with a text or email message seeming to come from the victim’s state workforce agency (SWA) claiming there’s an error in their claim. This can be corrected, the message claims, by verifying certain personal details.

Victims following a link in the message are taken to a fake SWA page where they’re supposed to reactivate their claim by providing personal details.

It is an identity theft phishing attempt. Once they have your details, the crooks use them to file a benefit claim for themselves.

How do you know it’s a scam?

Government agencies don’t send text messages asking for verification or other confidential information. The messages are sent out at random. If you receive one it is a fake.

Crime Rings at Work

 Scammers who buy stolen personal information from other crooks at just $2 are also filing claims for people who are not entitled to payment.

“States have experienced a surge in fraudulent unemployment claims filed by organized crime rings using stolen identities that were accessed or purchased from past data breaches,” says the US Department of Labor (DOL). “Criminals are using these stolen identities to fraudulently collect benefits across multiple states”.

There are at least three tell-tale signs of this scam:

*Receiving an official message or even an unexpected payment when you haven’t filed a claim.

*You receive an IRS form 1099-G with wrong information about the benefits you’ve received or are expecting. The form may even come from a state where you haven’t filed a claim.

*You have a job but receive a notification from your employer saying it has received a request for information about a claim you’re supposed to have made (but didn’t).

Don’t just ignore any of these messages or keep money to which you’re not entitled. First, keeping the cash might be considered a crime. And second, it means someone has your personal financial details and this could be just one of several frauds that use your ID.

“Unless from a known and verified source, consumers should never click on links in text messages or emails claiming to be from an SWA offering the opportunity to apply for unemployment insurance benefits,” the Justice Department warns.

Instead, anyone needing to apply for unemployment benefits should go to an official SWA website. The US Department of Labor (DOL) has set up a page listing state-by-state phone numbers to report unemployment insurance fraud at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/unemployment-insurance-payment-accuracy/UIFraudReporting.

You can also report any scam messages to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) by calling 866-720-5721 or using the NCDF Web Complaint Form found at: www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.