From the Texas Workforce Commission: TWC Reminds UI Claimants that Filing is Free, Warns Against Fee-for-Filing Scams

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) warns Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants to be aware of unscrupulous business operators who may try to charge a fee to file unemployment claims. Filing for unemployment benefits through TWC, as always, is free.

Claimants who sign on for so-called “fee-for-filing” scams could later discover unemployment claims were never filed on their behalf. They also may have given their Social Security numbers to someone they believed to be a TWC employee.

Claimants should always seek online UI information through Texas Workforce or by using the e-mail form found on TWC’s website.

TWC wants to ensure that UI benefits go to only those who qualify and to ensure that no one is taken advantage of by someone illegally posing as a TWC staff member or by unscrupulous business operators.

UI claimants also are reminded that TWC unemployment staff never perform home visits, ask for Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) or use text messages to contact claimants. Claimants should only give personal information when filing for benefits online at www.texasworkforce.org or when speaking to an unemployment benefit customer service representative on the Tele-Center phone filing system.

It is critical that UI claimants do not pay for a government service that is free.

The UI program, funded through employer taxes, provides temporary, partial-income replacement to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. TWC administers and oversees the collection of taxes from employers and the payment of UI benefits to qualified claimants.

From the Plattsburgh Press Republican: State Labor Department warns of job scams

The New York State Labor Department warns job seekers of a growing number of online employment scams that promise high pay for little work.

Scammers are using social-media sites such as Facebook and e-mails designed to lure desperate job seekers. The Labor Department was notified of the scam by several people searching for employment that used its Facebook page.

Labor Commissioner Colleen Gardner said the idea that these predators would target such vulnerable people in such difficult economic times is appalling.

“These ‘jobs’ are not endorsed by the Department of Labor,” she said in a press release. “If you want real jobs, we have them for you. I encourage all unemployed New Yorkers to use our new Job Bank and visit a local One-Stop Career Center.”

Labor Department Press Officer Michelle Duffy said the scam artists target people in different ways.

Some ask the victim to pay a fee for an interview that may never take place. Others will ask for personal information before they will provide additional details about the fictitious job, to use that information for identity theft.

The Labor Department released the information today because Sundays and Mondays are the busiest days for the unemployed to go online to certify for benefits and look for jobs.

The Labor Department offered some tips to avoid becoming a victim.

• Don’t open any unsolicited e-mails or unscanned attachments, even if the attachments are from people you usually communicate with.
• Don’t “friend” recklessly, and be especially wary of unsolicited invitations in your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
• Never provide personal information, except to a completely trusted and secure site.
• Remember the old saying, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Finally, if you feel you’ve been a victim, contact your local law-enforcement agency.