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Unemployment fraud is on the rise across Washington state. Make sure you take the following steps right away to protect yourself from it:
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Check to see if someone has set up an unemployment account in your name. Establish a Secure Access Washington account with the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD). This can help protect you from fraudulent accounts being set up in your name. If fraud is occurring, it's a first step to identify the problem.
- If someone has fraudulently set up an account in your name, contact your human resources manager and alert them to the fraud.
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Contact ESD to report the fraud. Note you will need to provide ESD with information including your social security number, date of birth, name, and information about the fraud.
- File a Police identity theft report here.
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File an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) via their online form at www.identitytheft.gov. Review the materials available from FTC about how to respond to, limit the damage from, and start recovering from identity theft. You can find useful and reassuring resources at FTC's Consumer Information Identity Theft site.
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Contact the major credit bureaus. There's a lot you can do here, including: (1) getting credit information by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com or calling 1-877-322-8228; (2) reporting a fraudulent claim by contacting one of the three agencies (provide them a case number from the police); (3) placing a fraud alert on your information - you only need to contact one of the three bureaus as they are required to connect with the other two with the alert; and (4) if you don't have major upcoming purchases, freezing your account. Here are the numbers for the major bureaus:
- Equifax: 1-888-766-0008;
- Experian: 1-888-397-3742 ;
- TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
- Keep any notes you created through this process as a record, in case of any future identity theft issues that may arise.
Remember, employment fraud can happen to anyone. Take action today.
 Learn more about unemployment benefits fraud by visiting the Washington State Employment Security Department webpage.
Masks or not - viruses don't discriminate
The new King County Health Officer Directive strongly urging individuals at indoor or confined outdoor public settings to use face coverings over their nose and mouth is in effect.
Remember COVID-19 does not discriminate, but people wearing face coverings can be subject to additional stigma and discrimination. Public Health - Seattle & King County has put together several anti-discrimination resources. The conclusion of this Public Health Insider blog post reminds us that "discrimination, harassment, racial profiling, violence, and other hate crimes for wearing or not wearing a face covering is against the law."
Please join me in standing with our neighbors across King County to create a more tolerant and welcoming community.
Stay home and spread the word!
Remember right now, physical distancing is the most important thing we can do to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Please forward this email widely and invite others to sign-up to my email updates to receive important and timely information for District 6 constituents.
Sincerely,
 Claudia Balducci
King County Council
Council Chair
District 6
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