Over the past year the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police, along with many other law enforcement agencies across the state, have seen an increase in reported identity theft related to fraudulent unemployment claims being filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry and Office of Unemployment Compensation. Victims' names and social security numbers are obtained by various means and used to file the fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation.

To protect yourself from unemployment scams and fraud the Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment Compensation recommends the following steps:

1. Never give out your personal information over email or text message.
2. Don’t wire money, and always ignore the following requests: 
   • Communications related to your UC benefits from someone asking for money;
   • Someone who says they can help you file for your benefits for a fee; and
   • Anyone claiming to work for L&I who says they need a fee to complete your application.
3. Don’t open or respond to unsolicited emails or text messages.
4. Never give out your personal information on websites or social media channels – especially those that claim they can help you apply for UC benefits. Third parties can’t apply for your benefits.
5. Don’t trust or rely on UC info from unofficial websites – always visit www.uc.pa.gov for Pennsylvania unemployment program information.
6. If you file a claim, save the following unemployment phone numbers to your phone so you know you’re receiving a legitimate call from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry or Office of Unemployment Compensation:
   • 888-313-7284 – Regular UC
   • 855-284-8545 – Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) 

The Office of Unemployment Compensation will ask you for some personal identification information, including the last four (4) digits of your Social Security Number if they call you, but they will not ask for your full SSN unless you call them. For further details on Unemployment Fraud please visit the Office of Unemployment Compensation’s fraud webpage at www.uc.pa.gov/Fraud.

If you become a victim of employment fraud the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police and Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry recommend the following:

1. Report the fraud to the Pennsylvania Office Unemployment Compensation at www.benefits.uc.pa.gov, as well as your local police department.
2. Any money received as unemployment compensation should be returned to:

Department of Labor and Industry

651 Boas  St, Room 500

Harrisburg, PA 17121

1. Contact the Credit Bureaus and freeze your credit to prevent additional identity theft and fraudulent uses of your identity.