EDD BofA Alert Text Scam - Employment Development Department

There have been several reports of people receiving scam cell-phone text messages to trick unemployment insurance claimants into clicking a link. Here are examples of such scam text messages:

The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have also warned consumers about this type of scam. Information about how to avoid text-message scams is available through the Federal Trade Commission, FBI, and the EDD Unemployment Scammers fact sheet.

Customers who are unsure whether a text message is legitimate can check their UI Online account or their mailed notice to verify the information.

Here are some key tips to help people determine whether a text message is a scam:

• Text messages asking people to reactivate a card by clicking a link are scams. Bank of America and EDD never text message people to reactivate a debit card.
• Never click a link in an unexpected text message claiming to be from EDD or Bank of America.
• Customers can verify whether an EDD text message is legitimate by checking UI Online or the mailed notice for the same information.
• Customers can call Bank of America using the telephone number on the back of their debit card to check if a bank-related text message is legitimate.
• EDD only sends text messages from the number 510-74 or 918-06. Customers should be aware, however, that a scammer might attempt to fake this number to trick someone.

Anyone who believes they have been victimized by a text-message scam should immediately report this crime to the National Center for Disaster Fraud by visiting justice.gov/disaster-fraud or by calling 866-720-5721. Customers can also report fraud to EDD by visiting Ask EDD and sel