August 24, 2016

Potential Unemployment Email Scam

Georgia applicants for unemployment insurance benefits should only use the official website, dol.georgia.gov developed and controlled by the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) for conducting unemployment insurance (UI) claim or employer UI business.

The GDOL does not request personal identifying information via email, and there are no fees associates with filing for unemployment benefits.

A Georgia applicant for UI benefits received an email from a website claiming to be the Unemployment Advisory Department.  This site and its affiliates use various addresses including "support @ us-benefits.org", "unemploymentdirect.com" or "unemployment-assist.com".

This may be an identity theft scam as it has been reported in other states as well.  Emails from these sites may request documents and personal identification information from an applicant.  The site may also claim that an application is at risk of being denied, or indicate that an initial application was received but not completed and provide links to continue the unemployment filing process. These email requests are designed to obtain your personal information and may charge a fee for using their services.

Georgia applicants are strongly urged not to register at these sites and to ignore any emails they may receive with any extensions of the addresses above.  These are not websites sponsored or endorsed by the GDOL or the Federal government.

If you believe your identity has been compromised, please contact local law enforcement and take steps to protect your identity.  You may also report UI fraud.