Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) says its office is being flooded with unemployment fraud. Bad actors are using stolen personal information to file for unemployment benefits.
Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) says its office is being flooded with unemployment fraud.
Bad actors are using stolen personal information to file for unemployment benefits.
The agency suspects 75% of the several thousand claims it gets each day are fraudulent.
That’s three out of every four claims it gets.
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The department is warning employers and residents of the problem.
CTDOL says when it suspects a claim is fraud, it withholds payment and notifies employers and impacted employees.
“CTDOL takes immediate action to notify employers when someone has filed against them, as a result, employers are often the first to know that an identity was stolen. In many cases, that employee still works for them," Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo said in a statement.
NBC CT Responds
It happened recently to an Oxford woman who says she recently got a letter from CTDOL that a claim in her name was being processed.
“Out of the blue, all of a sudden, I got a letter and my employer’s calling me saying, ‘Did you file unemployment?’ And I said, ‘No,’” explained Heidi Logie.
She has no idea how the fraudster found her personal information.
And, she has been using credit monitoring software before this happened .
“Since then, somebody tried to open a bank account in my name, they’ve tried a credit card. I’ve been able to catch all of it, but any unsuspecting person who is not paying attention, they’re not going to get it. it’s scary,” said Logie.
CTDOL says if you get a monetary determination letter or a 1099 tax form from its department, like Logie did, but you haven’t filed for unemployment benefits to report the identity fraud to its office.
In the meantime, stay alert.
Better Business Bureau suggests consumers protect themselves by checking their credit report for inquiries you never requested.
You can check this for free.
Click here to watch an NBC CT Responds report on how to do that.
You can also consider freezing your credit.
CTDOL says use strong and different passwords on your accounts.
And don’t click on or give our any information in any text message or email links claiming to be from the government.
This is one way scammers can steal your information.
