The United States Security service is investigating fraudulent attempts by a Nigerian crime ring to claim unemployment benefits using stolen American identities according to reports.
A Nigerian crime ring has been using previously stolen personal data of American citizens to claim unemployment benefits. The matter is being investigated by the US agency, according to Krebs on Security.
According to the report, the hackers were able to exploit the weak cybersecurity measures of unemployment systems in various States.
The agency has also sent a memo to alert field offices late last week, the Verge reported.
The Nigeria-based cybercrime ring has stolen a “substantial” database of personal information including the data of government personnel, and school employees, according to the Krebs On Security report.
The cybercriminals are primarily targeting the Washington State. There has also been evidence of other attacks in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wyoming, the report said.
According to a New York Times report, as States are flooded with unemployment claims the Washington State had realized that it had a problem in the past few days. Its unemployment office had been receiving calls from people who said that they had received the paperwork for unemployment benefits claims though they had not applied for it.
The cyberattack comes at a time when the US unemployment rate is surging owing to the Covid-19 pandemic with over 36 million Americans being out of work as per reports.
Thank you for being a loyal user of Portfolio.
Portfolio will be a paid section hereon.
Please Subscribe to get access to one of our early bird packs.
Or click on Free Trial to get 14 days free trial.
What You'll Get
-
Web + Mobile
Access exclusive content of the Hindu Businessline across desktops, tablet and mobile device.
-
Exclusive Portfolio and Investment Advice, Banking, Lifestyle and Specials
Get diverse set of perspectives from our trusted experts on Portfolio, Banking, Economy, Environment and others.
-
Ad free experience
Experience cleaner site with zero ads and faster load times.
-
Personalised dashboard
Customize your preference and get a personalized recommendation of stories based on your interest.
Published on
May 18, 2020
A letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.
Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.
In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.
We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.
But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.
I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.
A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!
Support Quality Journalism
