We reported in a previous newsletter about criminals taking advantage of an overwhelmed system to file fraudulent unemployment claims. And the thieves are literally banking on you not paying attention.
The issue was identified as a nationwide problem back in May. Governor Baker addressed the state’s response at that time in light of the thousands of cases that were reported in the Commonwealth. That seemed to stem the tide for a time, but more recent news reports have noted an uptick in these cases that seems to coincide with the rise in legitimate jobless claims. The latest scams are using e-mails that require you to respond or click through to a form to provide personal information. Data breaches can also be a source for criminals to mine for personal information.
How do they do it? Here’s a step by step breakdown:
- Once an identity thief gets your personal information—maybe through a data breach or sophisticated phishing e-mail—they simply file an unemployment claim in your name.
- You then receive a legitimate notification from the Department of Unemployment Assistance informing you that “your” claim has been approved.
- Unless you open that letter and report it as fraud, the money that is approved can be issued via a Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance Debit Card to anyone claiming to be you.
- In late January you receive a W-2 showing that you received thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits that you are expected to report as income.
- You’ll need to start the process of proving you never received that money and unraveling what other damage may have been done.
As with most scams of this type, the likelihood that you’ll be a victim is small, but as legitimate jobless claims are on the rise again, so too, are the opportunities for thieves to take taxpayer money and ruin your credit.
So how can you avoid being a victim?
- Open your mail! If it looks like a duck…you know the rest.
- Never reply to or click links in an unsolicited e-mail, or one from an unknown sender.
- Report suspicious communication to the state, the IRS, or both.
It’s true that criminals will continue to look for new ways to trick people out of their money, so we all need to continue to be vigilant in our efforts to stop them.
