Criminals are taking advantage of the surge in unemployment claims by submitting false claims and collecting unemployment benefits using stolen identity data, which was likely obtained in a previous data breach. Many victims don’t know they have been affected until they apply for unemployment benefits. Some are receiving notification of a claim being opened in the mail. If the criminals have enough information to make an unemployment claim, they could also commit other forms of identity theft.
If you receive a letter about Unemployment Insurance benefits but have not applied, it’s possibly fraud. If you think someone may have used your identity to make a fraudulent unemployment claim, University IT suggests that you:
- File a report with the New York State Department of Labor.
- File a police report.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
- Request and review your free credit reports for fraud and close any accounts you know have been tampered with.
- Check the status of your available online services and confirm your social security number has not been used to make an unemployment claim with New York State by logging into or signing up for a NY.gov ID.
- Be extra diligent about unexpected offers via email, phone, or text. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your instincts, if something seems suspicious use extra caution.
- Follow good cybersecurity practices: Change your passwords regularly, do not reuse passwords, and use two-factor authentication when possible.