When there is money to be claimed, scammers will be there claiming their (un)rightful share. According to the U.S. Secret Service, a Nigerian crime ring is committing fraud against many states’ unemployment insurance programs using Personally Identifiable Information (PII) obtained from identity theft victims. The scam operates very much like income tax fraud, where criminals use PII to file bogus tax refund requests. In both cases, the fraudulent funds are frequently laundered through “money mules” who receive the funds and forward them to the scammers.
Many people discover that their PII is being used in this scam when they are notified a claim has been filed in their name, or when their legitimate claim is denied. Several states recently delayed payments to claimants while they investigated claims for fraud. The Washington Post reports that in June 2020 Maine put in place a 48- to 72-hour delay on paying out benefits in order to investigate. “In doing so, state officials said they have canceled more than 12,000 new claims, and over 16,000 weekly certifications to obtain checks, believing them to be fraudulent, according to data released June 4.” Although they were successful in halting some fraudulent claims, legitimate claimants also had much-needed benefit payments delayed.
If you are a victim of this scam you may find out when you get a notice from your state unemployment benefits agency or from your employer. Here is what the Federal Trade Commission suggests victims should do to protect themselves.
- Report the fraud to your employer. Keep a record of who you spoke with and when.
- Report the fraud to your state unemployment benefits agency. Keep any confirmation or case number you get. If you speak with anyone, keep a record of who you spoke with and when.
- Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the fraud to the FTC and get help with the next important recovery steps. These include placing a free, one-year fraud alert on your credit, getting your free credit reports, and closing any fraudulent accounts opened in your name. IdentityTheft.gov will also help you add a free extended fraud alert or credit freeze to your credit report. These make it more difficult for an identity thief to open new accounts in your name.
- Review your credit reports often. Through April 2021 you can check your reports every week for free through AnnualCreditReport.com. This can help you spot any new fraud quickly.
You may also discover that a fraudulent claim was filed under your name if the money appears in your bank account. The imposters may call, text, or email to try to get you to send some or all of the money to them. They may pretend to be your state unemployment agency and say the money was sent by mistake. If this happens, contact your state unemployment agency and ask for instructions. Don’t respond to requests to wire money, send cash, or put money on gift cards. Your state agency will never tell you to repay money that way.
