The Montana Department of Labor & Industry and Montana Department of Justice are warning residents of fraudulent text messages claiming to be from the state. The agencies are aware of at least four smishing text messages that are being sent to Unemployment Insurance Claimants and non-claimants.

This “smishing” attempt asks claimants to click on a link to verify their identity on their Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim. DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK. These texts are not coming from DLI. It is possible that you may get a text message from ID.me or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

The Montana Department of Labor & Industry fraud team is aware of these attacks and are monitoring activity to see if there is an uptick in hijacked claims.

“Montanans should always be wary when they’re asked to provide personal information, particularly when it’s unsolicited. When in doubt, citizens should always contact us directly to ensure a request for information is legitimate,” said the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Commissioner Laurie Esau.

If you receive a text message about unemployment insurance, pandemic unemployment assistance, or other DLI-related programs you believe is fraudulent please contact the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. You can report the suspected fraud at this website: https://uid.dli.mt.gov/report-fraud/ or call the Fraud Hotline (406) 444-0072 or toll free at (888) 556-4677.

Any phone, email, or mail scams can be reported to the Montana Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Protection at https://app.doj.mt.gov/OCPPortal/?q=node/396, [email protected], or (406) 444-4500 or toll free at (800) 481-6896.