The Unemployment Usurper uses stolen personally identifying information—a Social Security number, birth date, name, address, etc.—to fraudulently apply for and receive unemployment benefits in the name of the victim. The incidence of this scam has increased so quickly that the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission have both recently issued warnings to be on alert for this scam.

The imposter may obtain personal information through a variety of methods—data breaches, phishing e-mails and phone calls, public websites, social media accounts, and physical theft of data. Often, the criminal will file the claim under the false identity and set up payments to drop into an account they themselves control.

Victims only learn about the fraud when applying to receive their unemployment benefits, when they receive a notice from their state unemployment benefits office or their employer if currently employed. Red flags that you’ve been targeted in this scam include: 

• Communication regarding unemployment insurance forms when you have not applied for benefits
• Unauthorized transactions on your bank or credit card statements related to unemployment benefits
• Fees involved with filing or qualifying for insurance
• Unsolicited inquiries related to unemployment benefits
• Fictitious website and social media pages mimicking those of government agencies.

If you are alerted to this activity and you haven’t applied for benefits, it’s likely your information has been stolen and employed in this scam. The benefits may be long gone, but you will need to move quickly to protect your finances and credit from further impacts. 

1. Report the fraud to your employer
2. Report the fraud to your state unemployment benefits agency (click here for New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions).
3. Report the fraud to the FTC.