By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston County residents and others across the state are being put on alert about a current scam taking advantage of claimants who are collecting unemployment benefits.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the alert. Claimants are said to be receiving an email from a Gmail account that appears to be from the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) asking for personal information. The scammer is also attaching what looks like an actual communication from the UIA in an apparent effort to strengthen the credibility of the email. Nessel said there’s no government agency, state or federal, that uses Gmail for official purposes. She advises residents to always examine the full email address if the sender is requesting their personal information. Anyone that received email should not respond. Responses to ID verification requests from UIA should only be uploaded through a person’s secure Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) account on the UIA’s website. Anyone who has fallen for the scam is advised to immediately Report Fraud or Identity Theft with the UIA. They should also monitor their banking and account information each time they certify for benefits.

Screenshots of the bogus email are provided.