TARRANT COUNTY (WBAP/KLIF News) – The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office is warning residents about a recent spike in identity theft scam involving unemployment benefits.
“This is unacceptable,” said Sharen Wilson, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney. “At a time when people need help, they are having their identities stolen and fake unemployment claims filed.”
The warning comes as the Texas Workforce Commission reports an increase in the number of false claims filed. The agency said they’ve boosted efforts to stop them.
A TWC report shows that between March 2020 and April 2021, the agency received more than 4.4 million unemployment applications.
611,000 of those claims were suspicious and most of them were blocked before benefits were paid out.
The Tarrant County DA’s Office said many people found out they were victims after receiving paperwork about a claim they didn’t file or when their employer notifies them about a claim.
The office is urging residents to take these steps if they believe their identity has been stolen.
- File an ID theft report with your local police departments.
- File and ID theft claim with the TWC here. Or, contact the fraud department at [email protected] or 800-252-3642.
- File a complaint with the National Center for Disaster Fraud here or call 866-720-5721.
- Read about identity theft here , consider contacting a national credit bureau – TransUnion, Experian or Equifax – to put a fraud alert on your account or freeze your credit.
Lloyd Whelchel, assistant criminal district attorney and chief of the White Collar Crimes team urges residents to be proactive against these scams.
“Document everything and notify officials that you’ve been a victim. You need to clearly establish that this was not you,” said Whelchel.
Click here to learn more about this scam.
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