Identity thieves taking advantage of COVID relief funding

Since March, the Montana Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Protection has received more than 400 applications for assistance to victims of identity theft, according to department spokesperson Anastasia Burton. Burton indicated this alarming statistic suggests relief funding related to the COVID-19 pandemic is being widely used to steal personally identifiable information from Montanans.

When identity thieves use stolen personal information for unauthorized financial activities, victims can apply for identity theft passports to prove to creditors and law enforcement officers that someone has used their identity to commit fraud. From March through Oct. 20, 2020, the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) had received 409 identity theft passport applications. “The majority of the applications have involved fraudulent unemployment claims,” Burton noted.

She added the Office of Consumer Protection also has received a number of inquiries about other scams related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as fraudulent Payment Protection Program loans, fraudulent purchases of personal protective equipment and a fake COVID-19 sweepstakes giveaway.

Even powerful public figures have fallen victim to these schemes. US Attorney for Montana Kurt Alme and his wife had their personal information stolen because of fraudulent unemployment insurance and Small Business Administration loans.

LAUREN LEWIS, public information officer for the Montana Department of Labor, explained how emergency funds meant to help Montanans weather the pandemic have been affected by criminal actors.

“The CARES Act, a COVID-19 stimulus bill, expanded Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to those not traditionally covered, including the self-employed, independent contractors, and others. Bad actors have tried to take advantage of this expansion of benefits through widespread, sophisticated national unemployment fraud schemes,” Lewis said.

According to Lewis, external data breaches from entities such as Equifax have allowed personal information to fall into the wrong hands. Lewis said criminals have been taking advantage of these data breaches and using personally identifiable information to file fraudulent claims in the names of the victims.

However, Lewis clarified “The individual claimant is not the target of the crime; their stolen information facilitates the theft of UI benefits.

“Montanans that have been a target of this criminal activity are not required to repay any stolen money,” she added. “Individuals who are victims of UI fraud are still able to apply for unemployment benefits, if needed.”

To try to avoid identity fraud, Lewis encouraged Montanans to “remain vigilant in protecting all personally identifiable information.”

If a recipient finds mail from the Department of Labor that is not addressed to them, Lewis advised returning the mail to the post office by writing “NATA—Not at This Address” on the envelope and dropping it in an outgoing mailbox. If they receive mail that indicates a UI claim was opened in their name, even though they did not apply for UI benefits, Lewis said to contact the department’s fraud prevention unit at http://uid.dli.mt.gov/report-fraud.

Those who believe they may have been a victim of imposter fraud are urged to report it immediately at uid.dli.mt.gov/report-fraud. Individuals can also file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov and take steps to protect their identity at IdentityTheft.gov.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.