Over 2200 Mainers’ Identities Part Of Unemployment Scam

If you work in Maine, there is a chance you could be involved in a massive unemployment scam.

According to the Portland Press Herald, the stolen identities of thousands of Maine workers have been used in a massive unemployment scam.  So far, the state has cancelled 2,200 claims that had been filed fraudulently.  While there is a chance that millions of dollars in unemployment benefits could have been paid out to scammers, the actual number in still being calculated by the state.

The two day pause in unemployment processing was so that department workers could remove the false claims.

The United States' Secret Service is currently investigating over 1,000 scams in an attempt to find and prosecute the scammers.

Several Central Maine school system employees were victim to the scam.  They only found who when the the department called their school system's HR department.

The good news is that, if your ID was used in the scam, you do not need to repay any benefits that have been paid out.  Also, if you do need to take advantage of unemployment, you will still be eligible.

If you think you may have been the victim of unemployment-related identity theft, or if you are an employer who believes your employees may have been a victim, click HERE