State officials are warning of a scam in which fraudsters use emails, texts and phone calls to try to steal unemployment benefits.
In an email issued Wednesday, Maryland State Police and the Maryland Department of Labor Unemployment Division said they are tracking and combating the schemes. They said unemployment insurance fraud is a challenge that federal and state agencies across the country are fighting.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maryland Department of Labor has flagged nearly 1.8 million claimants, and 2.3 million total claims, as potentially fraudulent.
The latest scheme is to ask legitimate claimants to enter their user IDs and passwords onto fake websites, the news release states. Fraudsters then can use that data to steal unemployment benefits.
If you receive an email or text message that appears to be from the Maryland Department of Labor, do not click on any links in the correspondence.
According to the release, the unemployment division:
- Does not provide assistance through text messages and will not send links asking a claimant to verify their account through text.
- Will not request or require payment for assistance with unemployment insurance.
- Will not provide assistance to claimants through direct message on social media.
The news release urges people not to provide sensitive information related to your Maryland unemployment insurance claim by email unless it is to an email with the “@maryland.gov” address.
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