Phishing scam shows uncanny similarities to legitimate state labor department website

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — It’s a scam so sophisticated, you’ll find a bold warning message at the top of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s website. However, you’ll never see the disclaimer if you fall for the fake phishing sites designed to mimic the state’s legitimate unemployment portal.

“We’ve discovered multiple phishing websites created by criminals to steal login credentials of UI claimants,” said Phill Spesshardt, UI Division Director at CDLE. “These sites look nearly identical to the MyUI+ login page and are getting increasingly more sophisticated.”

Below are screenshots of the state’s legitimate unemployment portal compared to a phishing scam website.

JoJo Nieves reached out to KRDO Newschannel 13 after getting a text message claiming he was still owed $1,400 in stimulus funds. Even though Nieves had already gotten all of his stimulus money, he clicked the link to make sure there wasn’t any sort of mistake with his SSI and SSDI benefits. Nieves almost entered his social security number.

“I was just about to and just something in my mind said you better not do that,” said Nieves.

It’s a good thing he listened to his instincts. The state says it could have cost him a lot.

“Once a claimant clicks on those links, their MyUI+ can be hacked, allowing the scammers to re-route their benefit payments to new bank accounts,” said Spesshardt.

Thankful he outsmarted the scammers, Nieves wants to help get the word out to other targets.

“Being on a fixed income as I am, and taking that chance of someone else taking my information to do something else with it knowing that they could take what little I have, is just not right,” said Nieves.

CDLE warns the department. will never text you with a link to log in to your account.

To protect yourself, only log into your account through CDLE’s official website at ColoradoUI.gov. For more information on known scams, visit the UI Dashboard.