Unprecedented rates of high unemployment have impacted the U.S. economy due to COVID-19 and the closure of many businesses. As of May 28, national jobless claims had surpassed 40 million. Maine has not been immune to this tragedy, reporting 70,800 individuals unemployed in April resulting in an unemployment rate of 10.6%. One year ago, the State of Maine was reporting a 3.4% rate of unemployment, a one-year change of 7.9%.
Cybercriminals have identified this overwhelming increase in unemployment and unemployment claims as an opportunity to commit crime.
The Gorham Police Department recently shared a press release from United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, and Maine Commissioner of Labor Laura Fortman which confirmed that “scammers are taking advantage of pandemic unemployment assistance programs to file fraudulent claims by using the personal information of other people, including Maine residents.”
The Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) reported receiving over 1,000 complaints of unemployment fraud and has canceled more than 2,200 claims that were determined to be fraudulent.
Gorham residents have not been unaffected; many reporting incidents through the Gorham Police Department and the Gorham community Facebook page. Most notably, individuals are receiving unemployment paperwork from the MDOL stating that their claim had been processed, when they had not filed one, or of not being able to complete an unemployment claim because one had already been filed in their name.
It is unclear how the criminals are getting individuals’ personal information. However, many state and federal agencies are working together to investigate and stop the fraudulent activity. As part of that investigation, the MDOL put a temporary hold on benefit payments and reinstated the standard 10-14 day processing time for new claims.
If you think that you have been a victim of unemployment fraud, the Maine Department of Labor advices taking the following actions:
•Report the incident immediately to www.maine.gov/unemployment/idtheft
•Go to the Attorney General’s identity theft webpage and follow the instructions.
•File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission online at identitytheft.gov or call 877-ID-Theft.
•Contact any one of these three credit bureaus: Equifax: 1-888-766-0008, Experian: 1-888-397-3742 or TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289.
•File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others who may require proof of the crime.
•Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your credit reports periodically to ensure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.
•Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.