Be On the Alert for Unemployment Scams

There is an unemployment scam occurring across the nation, and unfortunately, Carilion Clinic employees have been impacted. With this scam, imposters are filing claims for unemployment benefits, using the names and personal information of people who have not filed claims. Last week, the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) stopped accepting online requests for initial (not ongoing) unemployment claims while they look into the increased number of fake claims and complaints from across Virginia.

The vast majority of fraudulent claims using Carilion employee names are being caught early by our Human Resources team, who are working directly with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) to immediately block these fraudulent claims.  

In addition, HR has been working with the Information Risk Management (IRM) team to gather information and resources for employees who have been or could be impacted. IRM and HR have requested a meeting with the VEC to see what more can be done to protect our employees from this scam. 

If HR becomes aware of a possible fraudulent claim using your information, we will send an email notifying you and informing you of appropriate steps you can take to protect yourself. Please be sure to check your Carilion email often. If you receive information from the VEC at your home address, or otherwise suspect that an unemployment claim has been filed fraudulently on your behalf, you can:

• Report the fraud to the HR Service Center by phone at 800-599-2537 or by email at hrservicecenter@carilionclinic.org. This will ensure the claim gets blocked.
• Report the fraud to the VEC.
• Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission and get help with next steps for recovery.
• Contact Equifax at 800-525-6285 to have a flag placed on your Social Security number as protection.
• Review your credit reports often.
  • You can check your reports every week for free, for a limited time, at AnnualCreditReport.com.

For more information, read this information from the FTC.

If you have questions, contact the HR Service Center by phone at 800-599-2537 or by email at hrservicecenter@carilionclinic.org.