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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 11, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: identity theft ( 96 ), Scams ( 1,229 ), unemployment benefits, unemployment scam ( 30 )   

  More states are dealing with unemployment scams 

  

  The unemployment scams that are happening from Washington to Maine continue to take hold in more states. Both Mississippi and Minnesota are reporting that their unemployment assistance programs are being targeted by scammers looking to steal benefits.

  As we have discussed before, scammers are using stolen identities to apply for unemployment benefits in various states across the country. It doesn’t matter if you’re currently receiving unemployment benefits or you’re currently working. If your identity has been compromised scammers will use your information to try to scam benefits from the already overworked state unemployment systems. In most cases, the scammers will have the stolen benefits redirected to another address but in some cases, the scammers are said to be actually stalking the mailboxes of people whose identity they’ve used to apply for benefits.

  Besides using stolen identities that were compromised in various data breaches, scammers are also using details that they’ve harvested from social media to apply for benefits. It’s being recommended that you keep things like your birthday and your hometown private on social media.

  Many victims of the scam have voiced their concerns over their inability to reach their state’s unemployment offices. The unemployment offices have urged victims to keep trying to reach them as they are currently trying to assist as many people as they can during these trying times.

  If you’ve been a victim of this scam it’s recommended that you first contact your state’s unemployment office or your HR department if you’re currently working. On top of that, you should change your passwords for all your sensitive accounts. You should also initiate a credit freeze with the major credit bureaus so the scammers can not apply for things like credit cards or bank accounts in your name.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 5, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: identity theft ( 96 ), Scams ( 1,229 ), unemployment benefits, unemployment scam ( 30 )   

  More details about unemployment scams 

  

  Previously, when we discussed the recent unemployment scams plaguing the nation we mostly talked about how scammers were using stolen identities to apply for unemployment benefits. Now, the Federal Trade Commission has released more details not only about how the scam works but what to do in case you’re a victim.

  Overseas scammers have been overwhelming the online unemployment application systems in many states. They’re using stolen identities to apply for benefits while most states are under a mountain of applications due to the global pandemic. This makes it a perfect time for scammers to try to sneak into the system. People who are currently employed are finding out that unemployment benefits are being sought in their name.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjoZUV6hu8Y%5D

  While the ill-gotten benefits are usually sent to one of the scammers, in some cases they’re sent to the person whose name the benefits are in. In many of these cases, the scammers are posing as the state’s unemployment office and asking for the money back. However, instead of asking for the payment to be returned through legitimate channels, they’re asking for the payment to be sent through gift cards or wire services. These are hallmarks of many scams and payment should never be sent this way to anyone claiming to be a governmental organization.

  If you receive an unemployment payment that you did not apply for, the FTC urges you to report it to your employer and your state’s unemployment office. You can also report it to the FTC themselves at IdentityTheft.Gov.

   
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  Geebo 8:01 am on May 28, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Scams ( 1,229 ), unemployment benefits, unemployment scam ( 30 )   

  Unemployment scam not just targeting the unemployed 

  

  We’ve previously posted about unemployment scams in Washington and Colorado. Now it seems that these scams are becoming a nationwide problem and it’s also affecting people who are currently employed.

  Scammers have been using stolen identities to apply for unemployment benefits in several states hoping to shift the money to overseas scamming rings. This has caused delays in issuing payments to those who are currently depending on their unemployment benefits. Considering the record amount of unemployment the nation has been facing lately it’s probably been easy for scammers to slip through the cracks.

  However, it’s not just the unemployed that these scams are targeting. In many states, people who are currently employed have been notified by their employers that someone has used their identity to file for unemployment benefits. This could result in several financial headaches for the victims. Not the least of which could be getting audited by the IRS if it’s not caught in time.

  Some of the states that have been hit by this scam are Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. There have also been reports out of Pennsylvania and Maine that they’ve been targets as well.

  Even if you are currently employed, you may want to sign up for an account state’s unemployment office. Some states allow you to sign up for an account without needing unemployment benefits. If you’re currently unemployed, we recommend checking with your state’s unemployment office to make sure your payments are being sent to the correct destination.

  Also, please keep in mind that your state’s unemployment office may contact you by phone or email. However, they should not be asking for any personal identifying information. They should already have that information from when you first applied for benefits. If someone is asking for that information claiming to be from the unemployment office they could be a scammer looking to steal your identity.

  (H/T CBS)