As if there weren't already enough problems with Florida's unemployment system, now it appears that some hacker is stealing thousands of dollars from the unemployed.
Robert Nobrega reported that he stopped receiving his unemployment benefit after someone hacked his account and transferred the money to their own account.
Probably someone literally got into Nobrega's account and started claiming his money after a hacker got into his account and redirected the money wherever they wanted it to go. However, when he realized it, it was too late.
After noticing that he was no longer receiving unemployment benefits, he informed the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
Their response shocked Nobrega.
"Apparently someone got into account and changed all the information and I asked why someone from the DEO didn't email me or anything to tell me that someone changed the payment information," Nobrega said.
Κάποιος είχε κατευθύνει τα χρήματά του να πάνε σε μια διαφορετική τράπεζα, όπου του είπαν ότι είχαν αποσυρθεί και τοποθετηθεί σε μια χρεωστική κάρτα Lili Visa.
When he contacted Lili Visa, the company closed the account, but officials noticed that they could see $600 in deposits going into the hacker's account.
Lili Visa confirmed it had looked into the matter and responded by saying it had implemented fraud prevention measures. “This is against our terms of service and we closed the account as soon as we were notified,” a spokesperson said.
“They stole over $3090, which is a lot of money for someone who is not working at the moment”, said Nobrega.
The state website reports that more than 30,000 fraud cases have been identified so far.
“With the COVID-19 continuing and unemployment rates skyrocketing day by day, some hackers are taking advantage of the opportunity and carrying out attacks,” said Greg Scasny of Cigent Cyber Security.
In May it was revealed that the state DEO website had been breached.
The state claimed that only 98 people were affected and all were notified.
Scasny wondered why details of the breach were not released and warned people to check accounts .
“When you are unemployed and stress is sky‑high and you are simply looking for a way to receive your benefits, then that is when hackers take advantage of the situation”, said Scasny.
However, it is too late for Nobrega and he is now left without income while the state looks into the matter further.
“I am lucky to have my parents right now to help me”, said Nobrega. “If they weren't there, I would be homeless now.”
The state DEO confirmed that it is investigating the matter, however, Nobrega said he was told the investigation could take a month or more.
The state does not appear to have responded to how many others may have been affected by the fraud.
