Report unemployment benefits fraud

If you believe someone is using your identity to falsely claim unemployment benefits, learn how to report the fraud and what to do to protect yourself.

How to report unemployment benefits fraud

The Department of Unemployment Assistance's (DUA) top priority is to protect unemployment claimants and make sure money disbursed through the system is going to valid unemployment claims.

If you believe someone has applied for unemployment benefits using your personal information, you can report the fraud online or call the DUA customer service department at [phone].

You will need to provide:

• Your name, date of birth, and last 6 digits of your Social Security number
• Your address, phone number, and email address
• If you received a DUA letter about unemployment benefits, you will need the Claimant ID, Claim ID, or Letter ID from the letter

Report fraud online 

Upon review of your fraud report, DUA’s Program Integrity team will make note of the report on the claim filed in your name and lock the claim, which will cease activity on that claim. In addition, this information may be provided to law enforcement.

The DUA Program Integrity team will process the reported fraud to ensure that if any payments were made, they are not recognized as income to you and are not reported to the IRS on Form 1099-G at the end of the calendar year for tax purposes.  If you have already received a 1099-G related to this fraudulent claim, we will review your request and send you a corrected Form 1099-G.  In addition, the fraudulent claim will not impact your ability to collect unemployment should you need to in the future and no charges will be assessed to your employer (if applicable).

If you believe you are a victim of fraud

If you believe your identity has been stolen and a fraudulent unemployment claim has been filed on your behalf, here's some steps you can take to protect yourself:

1. File a police report with your local police department. Get a copy of the report that you can provide to creditors and credit agencies.
2. Change passwords on your email, banking, and other personal accounts
3. Make a list of credit card companies, banks, and other financial institutions where you do business. Tell them you are a victim of identity theft, and ask them to put a fraud alert on your account.
4. Get a copy of your credit report and dispute any fraudulent transactions. You can request credit reports online from the 3 major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) or by calling [phone]. 
5. Place a credit freeze with each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies. Call each of the credit reporting agencies at these phone numbers or visit their websites to freeze your credit.
   1. Equifax: 800-349-9960 or freeze your credit online
   2. Experian: 888‑397‑3742 or freeze your credit online
   3. TransUnion: 888-909-8872 or freeze your credit online
6. Place a fraud alert on your credit file. You can do this by contacting just 1 of the credit agencies to add an alert with all 3 agencies.
7. Notify your employer
8. Take notes about all conversations and keep copies of all records

Identifying unemployment scams

DUA takes fraudulent claims seriously. Protecting claimants' information is our top priority. You may receive communications about a fraudulent claim from DUA by text message, email, or letter. 

Here are some common unemployment scam techniques to watch out for.

Asking you to pay a fee

•  DUA will never ask you to pay a fee for assistance with your claim

Be aware of false websites

Check the web address of sites you are on. Some try to mimic official Massachusetts sites with similar names. 

• Mass.gov is the official state website
• The claimant login website is https://unemployment.mass.gov/Claimants/

Emails and text messages

• DUA may share information by email and text message but these will always point you to Mass.gov resources
• DUA will never ask you for private personal information such as Social Security numbers, or bank account or credit card information by email or text message

Helpful links

• The Massachusetts Attorney General's office has information about reporting identity theft and protecting yourself
• The Federal Trade Commission has a step-by-step guide on how to report identity theft and create a recovery plan
• The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation offers a consumer checklist for handling identity theft