During times of crisis, criminals seize the opportunity to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals. The Unemployment Departments across the nation are totally overwhelmed with all the claims coming in. In an effort to get the mounds of claims processed as quickly as possible, fraudulent claims are slipping through the cracks. You may have heard on the national and local news that criminals are filing false unemployment claims to take advantage of the overwhelmed system. The Maine Unemployment has set up a place to report these fraudulent claims. https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/idtheft/

This is good time to remind ourselves of some common sense practices to protect our identity:

Be on high alert for anything weird or unusual in your emails or bank accounts especially if it says COVID.
Don’t click on links that are unknown or you are not sure about.
Don’t send any money to ANYONE you don’t know.
If someone you know asks for money, check it out first to be sure it is really who they say they are.
Do not respond to calls or texts from unknown or suspicious numbers.
Limit the personal information you share via email, text, or over the phone.

Consider if it makes sense to put a freeze on your credit with the three major credit reporting agencies. The credit freeze will prevent unauthorized parties from accessing your credit report. When you put a freeze on your credit accounts, it will require an extra step to unfreeze it if you’re going to take out a loan, but that small inconvenience prevents someone else from taking out an unauthorized loan in your name. For more information, you may visit the Maine Credit Freeze Fact Sheet.