STATES ATTORNEY JAY SCOTT REPORTS UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS SCAM IN MACON COUNTY

Macon County States Attorney Jay Scott

Macon County State’s Attorney Jay Scott announced today that Macon County residents have reported receiving unemployment benefit debit cards in the mail when they haven’t applied for unemployment benefits.  Scammers steal the identity of the victims, especially targeting Senior Citizens, open unemployment accounts in their names, then change the address on the account to have future debit cards sent to another location.  This same scam has been reported to law enforcement recently in other areas of the state.  

Anyone receiving such a debit card who has not applied for unemployment should not activate or use the card, and should promptly report this fraud to the Illinois Department of Employment Security at 1-800-814-0513 or online at the IDES website. 

If you suspect a scam please call the Elder Fraud Hotline at 217-615-7582.  All calls are monitored by Macon County State’s Attorney Jay Scott.