Sadly, over the past six months, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has noticed an increase in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims using stolen Personally Identifiable Information (PII). This is a form of identify theft, in which the criminals are impersonating someone else by using illegally obtained information, including a Social Security Number or driver’s license number.
Many times, people are unaware that their identity has been stolen until they try to claim benefits for themselves or their family, receive a notification from the government, or are contacted by their employer.
How is ADP TotalSource® helping to protect you?
We have determined that none of its internal systems have been compromised, and our analysis revealed that the fraudulent unemployment claim are not associated with ADP.
If we are unable to confirm the validity of the unemployment claims we are receiving from the U.S Department of Labor (DOL), you may receive a request from ADP to verify a claim for various reasons, including one of the common scenarios listed below:
1. An unemployment claim was filed by an employee who used to work for the you, but was terminated or furloughed.
2. An unemployment claim was filed by an employee while they continue to work for you.
3. An unemployment claim was filed by someone who stole the employee’s identity and the claim was filed for the employee’s time while working for you.
To help, we will notify the state upon receipt of a response from you.
What should you do if you or an employee think you’re a victim of identity theft?
If you believe that you or one of your employees, are a victim of identity theft resulting in unemployment fraud, you should alert your state’s DOL and advise the employee(s) to take the following steps:
1. Go to the Federal Trade Commission identity theft website: www.identitytheft.gov for resources on reporting.
2. Request your free credit reports via www.annualcreditreport.com and review them for other fraudulent activities.
3. Notify all three major credit reporting bureaus and request a “fraud alert” on your credit report:
o Equifax
Consumer Fraud Division
800-525-6285
www.equifax.com
o TransUnion
Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.
800-680-7289
www.transunion.com
o Experian
National Consumer Assist
888-397-3742
www.experian.com
4. Contact your banks and credit card companies. Follow their advice on whether you should close your account.
5. Contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 1-800-269-0271. Order a copy of your Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement (PEBES) in order to check the accuracy of your work history on file with the SSA.
6. Notify the Internal Revenue Service’s identify theft hotline at 1-800-908-4490. Request a copy of your Wage and Income Transcript. You will need to report and dispute any fraudulent earnings listed on the Wage and Income Transcript. You can go to http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=186436,00.html for additional IRS information.
How can you try to avoid unemployment scams?
1. Be aware of false websites.
2. Be mindful that the DOL will not ask for a payment to process your unemployment claim.
3. Be wary of solicitors asking for your personal information online or by phone. The DOL will only ask you for information through official correspondence and through your online eServices account.
4. If the state calls you, you should ask the state agent to identify themselves.
To report unemployment insurance fraud please visit the US DOL website.
We hope you find comfort in knowing that ADP continues to actively monitor this situation. We encourage you to visit our website at www.adp.com/trust to learn more about how we work to protect your information, and how you can help protect yourself.