Be Vigilant! Cybercriminals Stealing Info To Apply for Unemployment Benefits

Cybercriminals are using the coronavirus pandemic to develop new phishing and identity-theft scams. We recently learned about a new scam involving unemployment benefits.

Our Information Security team is working with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) to investigate a fraudulent unemployment claim made using an employee's personal information. The employee received a letter from the VEC regarding an unemployment application, even though the employee did not apply for unemployment benefits. The letter included a weekly benefit amount and other personal information.

At this time, we believe someone obtained the employee’s personal information from the dark web (not from Carilion systems) and submitted an unemployment application, using their own bank routing numbers to divert payment.

If you receive a letter about unemployment benefits that you did not apply for, here's what you should do:

1. Report the fraud to Human Resources at 800-599-2537 or hrservicecenter@carilionclinic.org.

2. Report the fraud to your state unemployment benefits agency. If possible, report the fraud online. An online report will save you time and be easier for the agency to process. Keep any confirmation or case number you get. If you speak with anyone, keep a record of who you spoke with and when.

3. Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the fraud to the FTC and get help with the next important recovery steps. These include placing a free, one-year fraud alert on your credit, getting your free credit reports and closing any fraudulent accounts opened in your name. IdentityTheft.gov also will help you add a free extended fraud alert or credit freeze to your credit report. These make it more difficult for an identity thief to open new accounts in your name.

4. Contact Equifax at 1-800-525-6285 to have a flag placed on your Social Security number as protection.

5. Review your credit reports often. This can help you spot any new fraud quickly.

Visit the TSG hub for more information about phishing and how to spot a suspicious email.