Fraudulent Unemployment Insurance Claims Filed in Maryland

What to do if you Receive a Fraudulent Claim

First, it's important to know that the College has not had a data breach. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, over 156,000 potentially fraudulent claims have been detected since the beginning of January.

A legitimate communication will not include any of the following:

• Any correspondence asking questions about your application, or indicating that your unemployment claim has been approved or rejected.
• A letter including an unemployment insurance debit card.
• Phone calls, texts, emails, or letters asking for your Social Security number or credit information.
• Emails asking you to verify information by clicking on links within the email.

When Montgomery College is notified of a newly filed unemployment claim that appears to be fraudulent, Employee and Labor Relations will:

• Reach out to you via email to verify that you did not file an unemployment claim. The subject line will read: “Unemployment Claim-PLEASE RESPOND.”
• Inform you that a fraudulent claim has been filed in your name and provide additional guidance on the next steps to address the fraudulent claim.
• Notify the state of Maryland upon confirmation of a fraudulently filed claim.

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There has been no breach in our Unemployment System. Fraudsters are using identities and personal identifiable information stolen from prior data breaches that have taken place such as (EQUIFAX, TARGET, Office of Personnel Management) to file fraudulent Unemployment Insurance Claims. We are also working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General to investigate these fraudulent claims. In an attempt to protect yourself from any future fraud attacks:

• Request your free credit report new windowand review them for other fraudulent activities.
• Notify all three credit bureaus that you have been a victim of identity theft: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.
• File a police report with the local authorities.
• You may file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commissionnew window.
• You may file a complaint with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF)new window.
• Also click this link for tips from the Maryland State Police (PDF, ) .

If you have questions or suspect you are a victim of unemployment fraud, please contact Unemployment.