Scammers steal woman’s identity to apply for unemployment and COVID 19 assistance

3 Jul 2020 · 2 min

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2:09

In a Boston 25 News segment, reporter Liza Pappas interviews victim Karen Castillo and identity‑theft expert Robert Siciliano about a surge in fraud where thieves use stolen personal information—often a maiden name and parents' address—to file false unemployment and COVID‑19 assistance claims. The segment explains how the massive, chaotic rollout of pandemic aid has left federal and state agencies overwhelmed, resulting in lax oversight that lets fraudulent claims slip through. Victims may later face tax liabilities when the IRS discovers the illegitimate payouts. Siciliano advises viewers to proactively create online accounts with the Social Security Administration and their state unemployment department, even if they have never filed before, to monitor and control their records. Castillo is attempting to secure her identity but finds the process difficult, highlighting the need for additional protective steps.

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As millions of Americans apply for unemployment and pandemic aid, it's easier to fall victim to identity theft, especially if you're not filing for assistance.
Boston 25 News reporter Liza Papas spoke with an expert about how to prevent this from happening to you during this unprecedented time.
To me, what's scary and what's a little concerning is that there's no clear way to protect myself in the future.
Karen Castillo says someone stole her identity using her maiden name and her parents' address to file for unemployment and COVID-19 assistance. Her parents received the claim letter in the mail.
It's lucky for me that it was my parents, but let's say they had used any other previous address, I would have never have found out.
ProtectNow CEO Robert Siciliano says it's a scam happening across the country right now because of the coronavirus pandemic.
There's so much chaos and so much overwhelm with all these various government agencies that are dispersing funds that there's not a whole lot of oversight into the account administration. Which means that all the employees are completely overwhelmed and they're just agreeing to the majority of the claims that come across their desk because there are millions of them.
That's why he says it's easier for thieves to take advantage and pose as someone else to file these claims. The issue is if you don't catch this, the IRS could come after you.
So the problem with somebody applying for unemployment under your name is that at the end of the year, you may actually owe taxes. Regarding the money that was taken out of your unemployment insurance.
Siciliano says the best way to protect yourself is to create an account with the Social Security Administration website, as well as with the Department of Unemployment, even if you've never filed before.
If you've never filed unemployment insurance in Massachusetts, this would be a new process for you. If you have, they'll recognize you pretty quickly, but you want to get control of that now before somebody else does.
Castillo is in the process of doing that now, but she says it hasn't been easy.
It doesn't necessarily give you tell you everything, but it's one more tool, one more step to look at things that might not look right. In Walpole, Liza Pappas, Boston 25 News.