False Unemployment Claims

False Unemployment Claims

NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES

We need you to be aware that the nation-wide problem with fraudulent unemployment claims related to COVID has now been detected that impacts a current MinnState employee. A malicious actor used their personal data to file a false unemployment claim and set up the payment to be routed elsewhere.  It is important that you are aware of this problem and understand the steps to take if it happens to you.

How did this happen?

• MSUM in partnership with the System Office is investigating this incident. At this time there is no indication that a data breach occurred through MSUM or Minnesota State. Together, we are collecting data and working with the state employment agencies to establish commonality and root cause.  We are monitoring and reviewing new unemployment reports provided to us from the state daily and will be in contact with you directly if we have any questions.  This investigation is ongoing.

What should you do?

• Watch your postal mail for any unemployment paperwork.
• Be vigilant and monitor your personal information and all online accounts.

What do I do if I receive unemployment paperwork and haven’t filed a claim?

• Contact Human Resources immediately: hr@mnstate.edu or 218-477-2157. Your name will be provided to the IT Data Security Office for their internal investigative process and to notify the appropriate law enforcement and state agencies.
• Any breach of your data such as this that includes your Social Security Number, we highly recommend you consider signing up for a credit monitoring service to assist in detecting fraudulent activities.  We cannot recommend any specific tool, but this report may help you understand your options.
• Please enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all of your accounts.  This is extremely important because in many cases your personal information, including your SSN may be used to reset passwords to your online services.  Enabling MFA will generally prevent this from occurring.  Instructions on how to enable MFA for your MinnState account mnstate.edu e-mail) may be found here.  The Microsoft Authenticator application we recommend using on your smartphone will also work to protect your personal accounts including Amazon, Gmail, Hotmail, Facebook, eBay and many online banking services.