Fraudsters using local identities for phony jobless claims

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

EVERETT — Diane Bradford learned last week that someone has been using her identity to make bogus claims for unemployment insurance.

She has plenty of company, as imposters are scamming systems set up to help jobless workers in states across the country. Federal investigators believe an international fraud ring is behind the massive theft. It’s taking advantage of overwhelmed state unemployment agencies tasked with quickly providing money to millions of people whose jobs disappeared or were curtailed overnight because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 1 million people in Washington have filed for unemployment benefits since businesses started closing in March due to COVID-19.

The use of stolen identities from Snohomish County residents has been pervasive.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/fraudsters-using-local-identities-for-phony-jobless-claims/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=a7d85b1df3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-a7d85b1df3-228635337

[jpak]

1. My HR office emailed me to see if I really filed an UI claim

Apparently there are lots of fraudulent claims being filed

[thinkingagain]

2. As I know some people this happened to I have been following any information I see

saw a good story about this at [link:https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/05/u-s-secret-service-massive-fraud-against-state-unemployment-insurance-programs/|

But also from work we got an email today that tells you how you might be able to protect your self by creating an account first (before the scammers.)

regarding unemployment fraud, there is a step to take if you have not already had your information compromised.

If your information has not already been used for a fraudulent claim, we have an immediate resource that should prevent your SSN from being used for fraud.

Go to https://secure.esd.wa.gov/home/sawuserregistrations/signup or go to the Employment Security Department’s main page at https://esd.wa.gov/ and scroll down to the bottom where you can select “Sign in or create account”.

hopefully that helps



Create a user account using your personal email address. Doing so will not initiate an unemployment claim but will associate your SSN with the secure username and password that you use to setup your account. Once your SSN number is associated with the account you created, it cannot be associated with another (fraudulent) account.



When creating your account, if you receive an error message stating that “The SSN you entered already exists and is linked to this (partly hidden email address)” and you do not recognize the email address shown, report this error immediately to the Employment Security Department If you do not receive this prior message your SSN has been linked to your personal email address successfully.