Scam Alert

Very recently several of our clients have been notified of unemployment claims.

Unemployment benefits for claims that they did not make. Evidently, someone had obtained or accessed their or their loved one’s Social Security number. They received an unemployment claim from the State of Kansas.

If you have not filed a claim and have received such a notice, you or your loved one’s Social Security Number has been compromised.

Before I get into the steps that you should consider taking that are considered recommended, let me just talk to you in general.

Do not give out your Social Security Number. There is no one that needs your Social Security Number. Never give it out over the internet, by text, or by telephone. Most companies that require information for identification purposes will ask for the last four digits of your Social Security Number, but not the whole thing.

The Social Security office just does not call you. If someone calls, please don’t give that person any information.

We’re really seeing an uptick in these scams.

Here are the suggestions that we’ve seen in case your Social Security number has been imposed. This information is from the Department of Labor.

“Because your Social Security Number (SSN) has been compromised, you will want to notify all three major credit reporting bureaus and request a “fraud alert” on your credit report. They are:

EQUIFAX

Consumer Fraud Division

800-525-6285

P.O. Box. 740241

Atlanta, GA 30374

www.equifax.com

TRANSUNION

Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.

800-680-7289

P.O. Box 6790

Fullerton, CA 92834

www.transunion.com

EXPERIAN

National Consumer Assist

888-397-3742

P.O. Box 9532

Allen, TX 75013

www.experian.com

You may also want to contact your banks and credit card companies. Follow their advice as to whether you should close your account.

You should contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-269-0271.

Order a copy of your Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement

(PEBES) in order to check the accuracy of your work history on file with the SSA.

Since someone used your SSN to report employment earnings, you’ll want to notify the Internal Revenue Service’s fraud hotline at 1-800-908-4490.

Request a copy of your Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS. You will need to report and dispute any fraudulent earnings listed on the Wage and Income Transcript.

You can go to http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=186436,00.html for additional IRS information. Call 1-877-487-2778, between 8:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m., Eastern time.

In addition, please go to www.ftc.gov to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission.

If you have any questions, please contact kdol.fraud@ks.gov.”