3 Signs Of Unemployment Benefits Scams, And How To Avoid Them
More than 40 million Americans have filedunemployment claims so far during the coronavirus pandemic, and fraudsters are scamming their way into some of those benefits.
People in multiple states have recently been targeted by fraudulent unemployment benefits schemes. On Thursday, officials in Washington state said it had recovered $300 million in unemployment benefits paid to criminals filing bogus claims. In Massachusetts, officials are adding new identity-verification steps after finding “large amounts of illegitimate unemployment claims,” leading to delays in unemployment payments.
The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Labor said in a fraud alert that scammers have also offered to help individuals file claims for unemployment benefits. “Unsolicited calls, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits are several ways that individuals have been targeted,” the alert states.
Don’t be fooled. Watch out for these signs that your unemployment benefits communications are not legitimate:
1. There’s a fee when there should be no fee.
As the Office of Inspector General for the Labor Department notes, “You do not need to pay anyone to file or qualify for your benefits.” You should file for free through your state’s official unemployment insurance agency, and their phone numbers and websites are compiled here.
Don’t be swayed by people telling you otherwise.
2. You’re not on an actual government agency’s online portal.
Beware of websites and social media pages that clone or mimic those of government agencies.
One such scam purported to be the site of the Alabama Department of Labor, Secretary Fitzgerald Washington shared in a press release on recent fraud cases.
“We are aware of at least one Facebook page that cloned the official ADOL Facebook page and then proceeded to contact those who had interacted with the legitimate page with bogus offers of prizes and requests to allow them to file for benefits on the...
