Anyone with NY unemployment received a fraud alert notice? Freaking out!
I just checked my email this morning and found a message from the ny unemployment department saying that my account might have been compromised! The email said there was suspicious activity on my claim dated April 17th, but I haven't filed anything since February when I lost my job due to the restaurant closing. Called the fraud department number on the email about 20 times today and couldn't get through to a human being. The automated system just tells me to go to the website and fill out a form, but when I log in to my account it says everything is fine with no alerts showing. I'm worried someone is stealing my benefits or even worse, my identity! Has anyone else gotten one of these messages lately? What should I do? I really need my unemployment money to pay rent next week and I'm scared they're going to freeze my account.
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Morita Montoya
Sadly, this is happening a LOT right now. The same thing happened to me in March. Someone tried filing using my information even though I've been back at work since January. It took me FOREVER to get it sorted out. You need to speak to a rep directly, theres no way around it.
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Beth Ford
Did they actually freeze your account? I'm so stressed about this. Did you have to go to the police or anything?
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Morita Montoya
Yeah they froze it for almost 3 weeks. I had to file a police report and submit it to them. Make sure you save all your emails from unemployment as evidence.
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Kingston Bellamy
tHis is why i always print out EVERYTHING from unemployment. digital records aint enough anymore
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Joy Olmedo
I was in the same boat last month and was pulling my hair out trying to reach someone. After days of calling and getting nowhere, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me a callback from an actual NY unemployment agent within an hour. Talking to the agent got my issues resolved and payments released super quick. It was literally the only way I could actually talk to someone! Check out this video too: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE
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Isaiah Cross
Is this even real? Sounds like one of those too good to be true things. How does it even work?
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Joy Olmedo
100% real. It basically calls the unemployment office for you and stays on hold, then calls your phone when it gets through to an agent. Saved me like 5 hours of waiting on hold.
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Kiara Greene
wait for real? another app to download? does this actually work tho cuz I'm desperate at this point 🤔
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Joy Olmedo
You dont download anything actually. Just use the website claimyr.com - worked for me and talking to a human fixed everything in like 10 min.
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Evelyn Kelly
this sounds like an ad lmao 🙄
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Joy Olmedo
believe what u want but when ur unemployment gets hacked and ur desperate to talk to someone, you'll try anything. that service saved my butt.
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Paloma Clark
Ugh, the same thing happend to me! This is the THIRD time NY unemployment has sent me a fraud alert. The first time was legit - someone was trying to claim using my info. But the second and third times were system errors!!! So annoying. You gotta call them ASAP.
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Heather Tyson
I'M GOING THROUGH THE EXACT SAME THING RIGHT NOW. Got the email yesterday. The system is completely broken. I tried calling the fraud line about 50 times today. Busy signal every single time. I'm filing a complaint with the Attorney General's office because this is ridiculous. Three of my coworkers also got the same email within the last week.
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Beth Ford
Did you try the regular unemployment line or just the fraud line? I'm wondering which one is better to call.
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Heather Tyson
Both. Regular line put me on hold for 2 hours then hung up. Fraud line never even answers. I also sent emails to the fraud department but who knows if theyll ever respond.
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Raul Neal
The AG complaint is smart. I did that last year when they messed up my claim and suddenly unemployment started responding to me.
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Jenna Sloan
Here's what you need to do (I work in identity protection so trust me on this): First, don't panic. These alerts are sometimes automated system checks. Second, you MUST talk to a human at unemployment. The website isn't reliable for fraud issues. Keep calling but try early morning (7:55am right before they open). Third, put a fraud alert on your credit reports immediately. Contact all three bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). Fourth, file an identity theft report at identitytheft.gov Fifth, if you can't reach NY unemployment by phone after a few days, I strongly recommend using Claimyr.com - it's a service that gets you through to unemployment phone systems. I've recommended it to dozens of clients dealing with similar issues. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Identity theft with unemployment is VERY common right now, so don't delay taking action!
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Beth Ford
Wow thank you so much for this detailed answer! I just filed the fraud alert with the credit bureaus. I'll try calling early tomorrow and check out that website if I can't get through.
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Christian Burns
Can confirm this advice is solid. My sister went thru this exact thing and ignoring it made it 100x worse. She couldnt get benefits for like 5 months.
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Sasha Reese
does the claimyr thing actually work tho? feels sketchy
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Jenna Sloan
It does work. It's basically just a service that waits on hold for you and then connects you when a real person answers. Nothing sketchy about it - you're still talking directly to the unemployment office.
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Muhammad Hobbs
Just got the same email yesterday. Mine turned out to be a phishing scam!!! BE CAREFUL and don't click any links in the email. Go directly to the unemployment website by typing the address yourself.
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Beth Ford
Omg really?? How could you tell it was a scam? The email looked really official to me.
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Muhammad Hobbs
Check the actual email address it came from! Mine looked like official@labor-ny.gov but thats not the real address. The real one ends in .ny.gov not -ny.gov. Tricky bastards.
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Beth Ford
Just checked and mine is from noreply@labor.ny.gov so I think it's legit 😭
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Muhammad Hobbs
Oof sorry to hear that. Then yeah you def need to talk to someone there ASAP.
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Noland Curtis
Always hover over the link before clicking too! Even if the email looks legit, the links can still be sketchy.
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Diez Ellis
had this happen in february. took me 3 weeks to resolve. its a NIGHTMARE. document EVERYTHING, and keep calling everyday. the early morning trick works sometimes to get through. good luck my friend, ur gonna need it 😫
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Vanessa Figueroa
Not to be that guy but NY unemployment security is a joke. Their website looks like it was built in 2002 and probably has the same security. I'm not surprised at all that accounts are getting hacked left and right.
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Abby Marshall
for real tho 💯 my 12 year old nephew could probably hack that site lmao
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Sadie Benitez
And yet they still expect us to trust them with our SSNs and bank info. What a world.
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Drew Hathaway
Ok this is super weird but I got the EXACT same message and date (April 17). Something fishy is happening. Maybe a system glitch?
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Laila Prince
Maybe theres a mass security breach happening and they're not telling us? 🤔
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Drew Hathaway
Wouldn't surprise me one bit. The government is always slow to admit when they mess up.
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Isabel Vega
after 2 days of trying to call and getting nowhere, I used claimyr.com and got a callback from ny unemployment in like 40 mins. the agent told me they're dealing with a huge wave of fraud attempts right now. if u go thru the regular channels it could take months to resolve!
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Beth Ford
What did they tell you to do about it? Did they fix it right away?
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Isabel Vega
They verified my identity over the phone and unfroze my account immediately. Said if I hadn't called it would have stayed frozen for at least 3-4 weeks during investigation. def recommend calling asap!
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Dominique Adams
they literally dont care about us. remember that. you are a number to them. ive been fighting with ny unemployment for 7 months over an identity theft issue. SEVEN MONTHS. and im still waiting for backpay. the system is completely broken.
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Marilyn Dixon
Don't freak out yet! It MIGHT be a false positive. My friend got the same alert and it turned out to be nothing - just their system being extra cautious. But definitely try to talk to a human to confirm.
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Beth Ford
That gives me some hope at least. How long did it take your friend to resolve it?
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Marilyn Dixon
About a week, but only because she was able to get through to someone on the phone. The waiting is the worst part.
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Louisa Ramirez
i swear the ny unemployment department is run by monkeys smashing keyboards. like how can a government agency be THIS incompetent??? everytime ive needed help from them its been a complete disaster.
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TommyKapitz
that's an insult to monkeys tbh 🐒 at least they're cute
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Angel Campbell
That's what happens when you cut funding to govt agencies for 20 years then expect them to suddenly handle a massive increase in claims
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Louisa Ramirez
idgaf about their funding problems. its MY money we're talking about here. i paid into this system!!!
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Payton Black
Quick question - did you recently change your address, phone number, or banking info? Sometimes that triggers their fraud detection system.
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Beth Ford
I did change my phone number about a month ago! Could that really cause all this?
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Payton Black
100% yes. Their system flags any changes to contact info as potential fraud. When I updated my address I got the same alert.
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Harold Oh
protip: call your local state representative's office. seriously. i was dealing with this exact issue for weeks, called my assemblyman, and they have special contacts at unemployment that fixed it in 2 days. worth a shot!
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