As if Americans didn’t have enough to worry about during this COVID-19 crisis, now the FBI is reporting an alarming spike in fraud, with thieves targeting unemployment insurance benefits and stealing them from innocent consumers.
Fraud has been on the rise during the pandemic as criminals take advantage of consumer fears and their uncertainty about health, safety and financial security. Now, fraudsters are targeting unemployment insurance benefits and stealing them from consumers who may be eligible, and even those who are not. They do this by using personally identifiable information for sale on the dark web, stolen from the many data breaches from the past, to test for identity authentication gaps in state unemployment insurance systems.
One of the top fraud experts in the country, Tia Ilori, who leads Global Fraud and Breach Investigations at Visa, joins our Laura Cavanaugh to discuss how to identify the top warning signs of fraud attempts and proactive steps you can take to protect yourself.