Worcester city workers targeted in insurance benefits scam

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — More than 550 employees of Worcester have been targeted in a nationwide unemployment insurance benefits scam, city officials say.
The scam involves identity thieves using the victims’ personal information to file claims for unemployment benefits.
The city received about 40 fraudulent claims from March to mid-August, Dori Vecchio, the city’s human resources director told The Telegram & Gazette. Since then, more than 500 have come in, she said.
Employees in every department have been targeted. About 100 people who work for the Fire Department and another 100 who work for the schools have been affected. The city employs about 6,800.
“Several high-ranking officials and elected officials in the city have been compromised,” Vecchio said.
Schools Superintendent Maureen Binienda said she has been targeted three times.
Security experts say much of the fraud appears to be committed by scammers