Fraudulent Unemployment Claims

Criminal enterprises using stolen personal information from earlier national data breaches continue to attempt to file fraudulent unemployment claims through the Department of Unemployment Assistance system.

This is part of a national unemployment fraud scheme. This is an unfortunate and ongoing issue that has impacted many Massachusetts residents and Brandeis employees.

The advice and recommendations provided by the DUA continues to be the best source of information for impacted employees:

The DUA also recommends the following to help protect yourself in the event that a fraudulent claim is filed in your name:

  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 (877) 322-8228.

  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.

  6. Place a fraud alert on your credit file.

  7. Tell the National Center for Disaster Fraud.

  8. Take notes about all conversations and keep copies of all records.

We will keep the university informed with relevant DUA updates as they are made available. If you have specific questions or concerns, contact the Office of Human Resources for more information.