AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Labor warned unemployment claimants about a scam email that asks them for credit card and financial information.
State officials said that the scam comes at the time when unemployment claims rise. It said the emails come from the address support@us-benefits.org with the subject line “Required Documents to File Unemployment in ME.”
Those emails state a person can speed up their unemployment claim process by clicking a link in the email and providing more information.
“Do not provide personal or financial information to anyone by email unless you know that you have an open and active claim with the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation of the Maine Department of Labor,” said Jean Paquette, commissioner of the state’s Department of Labor. “All our departmental email addresses end with ‘@maine.gov.’”
She said the department does not ask for a person’s credit card number and does not charge for filing for unemployment.
The website at the company’s Web address bears the title “U.S. Benefits Resource Center” and in directions with multiple misspellings promises benefits to people submitting certain contact and biographical information.