Beware of UIA scam now circulating

Advancements in technology have made our day-to-day lives easier by streamlining tasks and allowing most things to be done on the go, but criminals have taken advantage of the modern age as well.

Well before the pandemic, criminals have been attempting to trick unsuspecting residents into giving up their personal information. Oftentimes, they do this by pretending to be a representative from a state agency — most commonly the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency or the Michigan Department of Treasury. The onset of COVID-19 and related shutdowns forced record numbers of people to apply for unemployment benefits, which put tremendous stress on the agency — and bad actors used this as an opportunity.

The UIA recently revealed its fraud department has been made aware of a new scam that seeks to take advantage of Michiganders who applied for UIA benefits during the pandemic, and I wanted to pass this important information along.

First and foremost: know that the UIA does not contact claimants by text for information or to process payments.

If you have filed for unemployment benefits and receive a text message claiming to be from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, it's a scam. The text message comes from an out-of-state phone number and provides a link to claim back payments. The message reads in part: "MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Your back payment deposit of $2,800 is now pending on your profile."

Recipients are then asked to click on a link to receive payment. The link leads to a fake, replica UIA website.

Do not click on the link. Report it as junk or spam and delete the text. The UIA communicates only with claimants through their Michigan Web Account Manager account, letters mailed to the current address on file or by phone.

This is an example of a government imposter scam. More information on these types of scams and what can be done if you find yourself involved in an attempted scam can be found at Michigan.gov/ag/consumer-protection/consumer-alerts.

With the amount of people who were unable to receive payments from the UIA over the last few years, I think this scam could be particularly harmful. Offering money to those who were routinely denied claims or made to wait by the agency, or who were so confused whether they correctly followed the ambiguous guidelines or not, will certainly get a lot of people's attention. Please share this information with anyone you know who had or has a claim with the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.

If you do not trust a website or information or have questions, call UIA's Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017. More information can be found by clicking here or watching this video.

Sen. Kim LaSata, R-Niles, represents Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph counties.

Kim LaSata

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