Texas Workforce Commission, AG Paxton warn Texans of identity theft, unemployment fraud schemes

(The Center Square) – Over the past month, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), which administers the state’s unemployment benefits program, has issued new warnings to employers and employees about identity theft and fraudulent unemployment benefit schemes.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that unemployment benefits identity theft is on the rise.

“Identities are being stolen at record rates, some in breaches of health insurance companies, hotels and in one of the largest cases, a consumer credit reporting agency,” TWC reports. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the number of identity theft complaints in America doubled in 2020. The institute reports that government benefits programs “are now the largest single target for these thieves,” even more than credit card theft.

Identity theft of unemployment benefits occurs “when an imposter uses another person’s personal information, such as their name and Social Security number, to file a claim for unemployment benefits,” Paxton’s office said.

“Unscrupulous criminals are victimizing Texans by stealing their identities and filing false unemployment claims. If you receive documents from the Texas Workforce Commission regarding benefits claims you did not make, remain vigilant, report it, and take appropriate steps to protect your identity,” Paxton warned.

One way Texans’ information is being stolen is through social media networks, TWC says. These sites “routinely expose full names, addresses, birthdates and other information valuable to scammers. Combined with information stolen from data breaches, cell phone hacking or ‘phishing’ scams that expose social security numbers, they can empower criminals who can impersonate you online.”

TWC warns that the agency never conducts business on social media, and if anyone claiming to represent the TWC contacts them asking for their private information to not respond. Individuals should only conduct business through TWC’s official unemployment portal or phone number.

Texans are warned to never give out their Social Security number, account logins or bank information, payment amounts or even addresses on any social media platforms.

Another type of identity theft scam involves individuals contacting Texans misrepresenting themselves as former employees or as TWC staff.

“When you are contacted by a legitimate TWC Specialist, they will need to confirm your identity and will ask for your Social Security Number and date of birth. However, a TWC Specialist will never ask for a credit card number or state that there is any kind of fee associated with your claim,” TWC states. “There is no fee for filing for UI and a TWC Specialist cannot change banking information, so the full number is unnecessary. TWC does not conduct business on social media. Any social media site claiming to be affiliated with TWC that solicits information is fraudulent.”

Anyone receiving a letter from the TWC asking to verify an identity using ID.me that did not file a claim should not complete the verification and instead should report it to the TWC, the agency notes.

Another method of fraud is when individuals receive a letter that appears to be from the TWC stating they have applied for benefits when they haven’t applied for them. If this happens, “it is very likely you are the victim of identity theft,” TWC warns.

If Texans believe they are a victim of identity theft, they are encouraged to report the theft to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division toll-free 1-800-621-0508 or online.

Unemployment fraud should be reported immediately to the TWC’s Fraud and Program Abuse Hotline, 800-252-3642, and through its online fraud submission portal.

Texans are encouraged to contact the police department in the city in which they live and get an incident report and number for the type of fraud they experienced.

For identity theft, they are also encouraged to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission website and to contact one of three credit reporting agencies and ask that a free fraud alert be placed on their credit report. They include Equifax (800-349-9960), Experian (888-397-3742), and TransUnion (888-909-8872).

From March 2020 to April 2021, TWC received 4.48 million total claims filed from individuals applying for unemployment benefits. Among them, TWC tagged 611,000 claimants as suspicious, with the majority being blocked before any benefits were paid out. TWC continues to hire new investigators and improve its fraud-blocking efforts. In the last month, 94% of suspicious claims have been blocked before any benefits were paid, the agency reports.

Since March of last year, the state has paid a record $48 billion in unemployment claims and more than 8 million Texans have filed for unemployment.

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