By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Secret Service is investigating a well-organized, international crime ring that is targeting states’ unemployment systems.
The fraudsters appear to be using stolen identities to file for unemployment benefits on behalf of people who are still working, The New York Times reports.
The cyber attacks are exploiting states that are inundated with claims to process.
A memo obtained by The New York Times suggests a sophisticated Nigerian fraud ring is behind the attacks, which could result in “potential losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“We are actively running down every lead we are getting,” Roy Dotson, a special agent who specializes in financial fraud at the Secret Service, told NYT.
According to the memo, Washington State appears to be the primary target, but evidence also points to attacks in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Wyoming.
