Nevada DETR warning of phishing scam

A vehicle drives by a sign at the State of Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) as the coronavirus continues to spread on April 28, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo credit Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Las Vegas, NV (KXNT) - The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) is warning businesses that an email with a subject line “Important Notice (Urgent Response Required)” is not from the agency, but a phishing email targeting Nevada employers.

Phishing is a type of online scam that targets people by sending them an e-mail that appears to be from a well-known source – in this case, DETR. These email attacks typically ask the reader to take a specific action which gives the attackers the opportunity to collect information which can be used to commit fraud.

The State has confirmed that the email message has been sent to several employers and is being sent from the email address: DETR <notificationalert@ui.nv.gov>. It is important to note that this address is NOT an official DETR email address.

        Example of phishing email is as follows:

              Attention,
              The Nevada Department of Employment and Rehabilitation (DETR) is sending you this notice as a security measure regarding the recent system upgrade, and we experienced a minor problem with mailing addresses.
              Individuals who applied and filled for benefits during the month had been approved but our mailing system had addresses mixed up hence having the benefits sent to different and wrong addresses.
              Your address was one of the mailing addresses, so we urge you to NOT destroy any mail you receive from the Nevada Department of Employment and Rehabilitation (DETR).

The State has confirmed that the email message has been sent to several employers and is being sent from the email address: DETR <notificationalert@ui.nv.gov>. It is important to note that this address is NOT an official DETR email address.

DETR says they have has no involvement with this type of unauthorized practice, does not send these kinds of messages through email and does not ask employers to respond to an email to obtain further instructions. Employers receiving an email of this kind or similar digital correspondence are advised to delete the message and not respond.