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Protecting Your Finances

How to respond to unemployment fraud

During the Coronavirus pandemic, there have been a number of people filing fraudulent unemployment claims using the names and personal information of people who have not filed claims. The victims of the fraud often first learn of it when they get a notice from their state unemployment benefits office or employer about their supposed application.

In order to protect personal information such as your birthday and Social Security number in the event of a fraudulent scam, take the following steps:

• Report the fraud to your employer and your state unemployment benefits agency. With high call volumes happening across the country, the online report option will save you time. Keep your confirmation number handy in case you need it later in the process. It’s also important to take note of who you spoke to and when.

• Report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using IdentityTheft.gov. You can then activate a free, one-year credit fraud alert and obtain a free credit report.

• Frequently review your credit reports to look for fraud. AnnualCreditReport.com is allowing people to check their reports every week for free for the next year.

• Watch out for money mule scams. If someone is calling, texting or emailing you to collect money that they say was sent by mistake, do not reply. The state unemployment agency will never have people repay money in that manner.

Source: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/06/scammer-getting-unemployment-benefits-your-name