Security Alert: Unemployment Fraud in Minnesota

With unemployment reaching record highs for recent history, the state of Minnesota is inundated with requests for unemployment and unemployment insurance. This influx of requests makes it easy for a fraudulent request to hide or “get lost” in the system, and the expansion of unemployment benefits provided by the federal government makes this fraud more lucrative than normal.

How this fraud appears to victims, according to current reports:

• A fraudulent request for unemployment benefits is submitted using information, such as Social Security Number (SSN), retrieved through currently unknown means
• Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) creates an account and generates mail via USPS to the individual’s home address notifying them that an unemployment benefits account was created for them

If you are University of Minnesota faculty, staff, or student staff and you have been effected by unemployment fraud, please report it to the Office of Human Resources, Employee Relations at [email protected].

We also recommend taking the following steps to secure your identity:

• Report the unemployment fraud to the state of Minnesota
• Freeze your credit
• Review your credit report 
• Review information from the Federal Trade Commision (FTC) about identity theft

Security expert Brian Krebs also published a useful blog post regarding fraud in state unemployment programs.