What To Do If You Become A Victim of Unemployment Claim Fraud
As we’ve previously noted, the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a number of scams from parties attempting to obtain personal information of affected citizens. One particularly prevalent genre of scam we’ve seen has been unemployment claim fraud, which has been taking advantage of the high number of people currently out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Common tactics like asking you to pay a fee to receive your unemployment benefits, submitting paid online surveys, and requiring signing up for a debit card that the funds will be disbursed into have been showing up across the country, so staying vigilant with your personal information is the best way to stay prepared.
If you believe your identity has been stolen or that a fraudulent unemployment claim has been filed on your behalf,
File a report with your local police department. Don’t forget to get a copy of the report that you can provide to creditors and credit agencies if needed.
Change the passwords on your personal accounts, especially for email and banking services. As you’ve surely been reminded, having strong, unique passwords for all your different accounts is an integral way of keeping your information safe - if you haven’t done so already, we recommend signing up for a password manager such as 1Password or LastPass.
File a claim with your state’s Department of Unemployment Assistance. Massachusetts’ DUA has a form for this specifically, and can be reached at (877) 626-6800.
Make a list of the financial institutions where you do business, including banks and credit card companies, and advise them of your current situation. Advise that they put a fraud alert on your account.
Get a copy of your credit report and dispute any fraudulent transactions. There are authorized sites available for requesting your credit reports, or alternatively you can call the Federal Trade at 877-322-8228 or file an Annual Credit Report Request Form through the mail.
Request a credit freeze with each of the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian & TransUnion.) A credit freeze, also called a security freeze, “prevents a credit reporting agency from releasing your credit report to others, without affecting your credit score.” This stops companies from performing credit checks often necessary when opening new accounts. The credit freeze will remain in effect until you lift or remove it. For more information and contact info for all three agencies, visit the Massachusetts Coronavirus Digital Hub.
Additionally, requesting a Fraud Alert from one of the three companies listed above will add an alert with all three agencies.
Accurate record keeping during, prior and following an incident involving fraud is immensely helpful in disputing claims. Massachusetts has an instructional page with resources for contacting authorities. There are multiple country-wide links as well as Massachusetts-specific resources you can use to mirror who you would call in your respective state.
Until next time, stay safe & stay prepared.