Massive Number Of Fraudulent Unemployment Claims In Western New York

With the number of people in Western New York that actually need unemployment benefits, the last thing anyone wants to hear is that they were a victim of fraud and someone else is receiving their benefits. According to WGRZ, the New York  Department of Labor fraud alert identifies more than 521,000 fraudulent claims.

One person recently had their identity used by someone who filed a fraudulent claim and because there are so many false claims out there right now it's hard to navigate the system to find where the problem is. The department of labor has issued an alert to make people aware of the dangers of unemployment fraud, and all the things you should know to protect yourself.

The first thing you should know is what extensions that text messages from them would come from. There are only two numbers that they use, 468-311 or 22-751. Another thing you should know is, the Department of Labor will never contact you on social media and ask you for personal information. Also, there are websites out there that look official, but they're not, you should watch out for them.

According to the U.S Labor Department, New York State has overpaid $114 million in unemployment benefits last year.

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If you feel you have been a victim of unemployment fraud, the first thing you should do is report all of it to the Department of Labor, change your NY.gov password, and pin number you should also change your banking information. If you have any suspicious text messages or emails, you should delete them too.