This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube news segment titled "UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD Plagues Covid Pandemic NTD" (published July 8, 2020). The excerpt is an English news report by NTD with reporter Kevin Hogan interviewing identity-theft expert Robert Siciliano about a reported surge in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece cites FBI findings, describes how criminals use stolen identities, phishing, social media, cold calls and intrusions to apply for benefits, notes the organized, for‑profit nature of cybercrime (including overseas actors), and offers practical advice to monitor bank and unemployment accounts and change passwords.
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The FBI is reporting a surge in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. The bureau says the complaints are related to the virus crisis and involve the use of stolen identities. We spoke with an identity theft expert to learn how you can protect yourself. NTD's Kevin Hogan has more.
The FBI is seeing a spike in unemployment insurance fraud during the virus crisis. Criminals are stealing people's identities and then applying for unemployment benefits in in the victim's names. ProtectNow CEO Robert Siciliano says criminals thrive on chaotic situations like a pandemic because there's a lot of stimulus money available.
Criminals generally shine when things are somewhat chaotic, uh, for example, like around the holidays, people are shopping, uh, whether they're online or at the stores. All that chaos, uh, there's a lot more opportunity for fraud. People aren't paying as much attention.
Siciliano says people need to pay close attention to their credit lines and unemployment accounts to make sure nothing has gone wrong. He says simple phone calls, emails, and pop-ups can be used to steal identities.
What everybody should do essentially is log in to their own unemployment profile, making sure that you have access, change up the passcode so that nobody can function as you.
The FBI reports criminals are stealing identities using computer intrusions, cold calls, email phishing schemes, and stealing information from social media, as well as other methods. Robert Siciliano says cybercriminals are highly organized. Similar to professional businesses.
They have supervisors, they have managers and frontline employees. They have people that work in a physical office building throughout the day, and they have remote workers either locally or throughout the world. And this is a for-profit opportunity. Criminal hacking is a for-profit business.
Oftentimes, cybercriminals are operating overseas. For example, the Justice Department seized the property of 6 Nigerians for stealing $6 million from U.S. victims in online dating scams. Foreign states have even engaged in organized cybercrime, like when Chinese military-backed hackers breached the credit company Equifax in 2017. According to the assistant attorney general, Chinese cyber actors tried to steal a virus vaccine from the U.S. in April.
You used to say that, you know, those who dominated the seas dominated war, and then those who dominated the skies dominated war. Now it's those who dominate cyberspace.
The FBI says to check your bank accounts regularly and keep a lookout for letters about unemployment insurance if you have not applied for it. Kevin Hogan, NTD News.
