The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (Commission) has issued a fraud alert for a workers’ compensation scheme currently impacting states nationwide. While the Commission says no cases have been reported yet in Virginia, as Commission case dockets are public information with claimant names, bad actors are likely to target Virginia in the future.
Summary: The email scam targets individuals by impersonating courts and workers’ compensation professionals to schedule fraudulent hearings and obtain money. While anyone can fall victim to this scam, it has been known to specifically target Spanish-speaking individuals.
How it Works:
- Workers are contacted by phone, email, or video calls, and told they must pay money to receive workers’ compensation benefits or to settle their claims. Some victims have had workers’ compensation claims, while others have not.
- These communications may appear official and may falsely identify the caller as a judge, attorney, or government representative.
- The scammer often requests that the recipient set up an online workers’ compensation hearing on the WhatsApp platform.
- A fraudulent virtual hearing is performed, with a false judge, bailiff, attorney, and prosecutor mimicking a court proceeding.
- The scammer attempts to obtain personal identifying information.
- Following the fake hearing, the targeted individuals are asked for their payment information in order to pay a fee to receive their settlement.
Commission Processes: Knowing how the Commission processes claims can help users identify fraudulent instructions.
- The Commission only schedules hearings (in-person and virtual) through written letter notifications, which reference Virginia area codes and zip codes.
- The Commission and insurance carriers will never ask for payment to release workers’ compensation benefits. Individuals should never pay money up front for benefits or settlements.
- The Commission will never ask for payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
- Official communications from the Commission will never pressure anyone to act or pay immediately.
- Official Commission virtual hearings are held via the WebEx platform only. More details on the Commission’s virtual hearings can be seen here.
- All attorneys handling workers’ compensation cases in Virginia must be licensed to practice law in Virginia.
- Official forms are available from the Commission’s website. Forms found on other sites or hosts that do not start with https://workcomp.virginia.gov/ should not be trusted.
VRSA Processes:
- VRSA reports all claims through an EDI-encrypted process to the Commission.
- This report triggers correspondence being mailed to the employee from the Commission, explaining their rights and responsibilities. This may be one letter or multiple pieces of correspondence for claims involving medical treatment and lost wages.
- In some cases, injured employees may miss important correspondence, including the request for a hearing, and may believe this fraudulent instruction is that request.
Preventing and Reporting Scams:
- Remind employees that if they receive a request for information and are unsure if it is legitimate, to not send money or personal information. Verify before you act. Early reporting helps others from becoming victims.
- Verify unexpected notices regarding litigation/virtual hearings with their attorney, or VRSA claims representative. VRSA receives a copy of all correspondence from the Commission.
- For additional checks, contact the Commission Customer Service Team to assist in verifying the legitimacy of a request or the status of a claim at 877-664-2566 or email questions@workcomp.virginia.gov.
- Report the incident to local law enforcement as soon as possible.
- Preserve emails, voicemails, texts, and payment requests as evidence.
For more information about VRSA’s workers’ compensation benefits and processes, contact your claims representative at: 800-963-6800.