ST. PAUL – State Rep. Dale Lueck, R-Aitkin, is asking area residents to watch for identity theft related to unemployment insurance and report suspicious activities to local law enforcement.
“My colleagues and I have received reports from constituents who are concerned about fraudulent activities and suspect their personal information may have been compromised,” Lueck said. “The scammers are clearly busy using both the internet and U.S. mail to attempt to steal your identity and get into your financial accounts.”
Reports have surfaced of people having unemployment insurance claims filed in their name. State officials have indicated they have not yet identified a data breach. Because of the heavy use of unemployment benefits and the many new grant and loan programs related to COVID-19, the current environment is ripe for scammers attempting to commit identify theft and fraud.
“The most important thing we can do is to keep an eye on our financial accounts and let the authorities know immediately of suspicious activities,” Lueck said.
Lueck said individuals who notice something improper should:?
- File a police report – this is identity theft.
- Check your credit report – again, this is identity theft and bad actors may have applied for many forms of credit and programs.
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