According to Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol, road…

According to Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol, road patrol Deputies have been receiving a high volume of calls from members of the public who are reporting that fraudulent unemployment claims are being made using their actual identities. These members of the public are either receiving mail from the New York State Department of Labor or are being contacted by their current employers and advised of the claim. Most often, the fraudulent unemployment claim will include the actual name, date of birth, address, social security number and employment information of an individual and request that the monetary benefits be sent to a different, out of state address.

If you have been notified of a fraudulent unemployment claim having been made using your information, please use this hyperlink to contact the New York State Department of Labor to refute the claim: https://www.labor.ny.gov/agencyinfo/report-fraud.shtm and then click on "Report UI Benefits Fraud." This is the actual website to the New York State Department of Labor and it will require for you to enter in your personal information. You should also contact your financial institution and advise them of the misuse of your identity and then closely monitor your own credit.

These occurrences are possible because your personal information is collected over time on various locations on the Internet. Your full name, your date of birth, your current and past addresses, your current and past telephone numbers, your family members and associates and in many cases, your social security number are available to anyone. Some of this information is collected through legal means and are public record. Other times, sensitive personal information can be obtained through past security breaches at credit bureaus, financial institutions and government agencies.

Citizens are reminded to never provide anyone who you cannot positively identify, over the telephone, Internet or otherwise with your personal information such as your birthdate, your social security number, a credit card number or a bank account number. It is our goal at the Oneida County Sheriff's Office to keep the public aware of the many types of scams and to provide information which will help keep Oneida County citizens safe.