Unemployment Insurance Scam:

Modified: April 8, 2021 8:03pm

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Have you opened the mail to find the dreaded notice stating an unemployment insurance claim for benefits has been file with your information? You are not alone!

Here are the steps you need to take:

Report the fraudulent claim to the NYS Department of Labor via phone, 1(888) 598-2077 or by mail to: NYS Department of Labor, Office of Special Investigations, Bldg. 12 - Room 200, W. Averell Harriman Campus, Albany, NY 12240.

You can file a formal complaint with the Buffalo Attorney General’s Office

You should also file a complaint with file a report at https://identitytheft.gov/.

Next, check your credit report. Everyone is entitled to obtain a copy of a free annual credit report. You can call 1-877-322-8228 or visit www.annualcreditreport.com. For the credit report, you can choose to receive all three reports at once, or break the credit reports up and receive one each quarter. By choosing to obtain one report each quarter you will continuously monitor your credit all year long. If you find any erroneous information on the report or information you do not recognize, you will need to file a dispute for each item.

You will need to provide your social security number to obtain a copy of your credit report. Credit reports are based upon one's social security number since you are the one reaching out for this information to a known secure number or website, this is the exception to never sharing your social security number. 

Direct contact for the three credit reporting agencies:

Experian 1-888-397-3742                        www.experian.com 

Equifax 1-800-685-1111                          www.equifax.com

Transunion 1-800-888-4213                     www.transunion.com

The Federal Trade Commission offers more resources on how to freeze your credit. 

If you receive a W-2 in the mail with your information you should reach out and alert the Internal Revenue Service and the NYS Department of Taxation

Expires: 
Friday, December 31, 2021