What do you think when you hear “unemployment scam”?

Many of us think of those who quit their jobs and lie on applications to steal money from the government.

The FBI and Identity Theft Resource Center warn about a new unemployment benefit mail scam. It works like this: If you listed your home for sale or applied for unemployment, you will receive suspicious mail.

The mail may be fraudulent, “timely response requested,” notices or letters from the “overpayment department.” The mail might even be actual payments from the state obtained fraudulently in your name.

Scammers are able to use data from MLS listings, other publicly available information or personally identifying information stolen in past data breaches.

Protect yourself by reporting any suspicious mail. Give the mail to your postal carrier for a postal inspector, or forward it directly to the USPS Criminal Investigation Service Center, Attn: Mail Fraud, 433 W.Harrison Street, Room 3255, Chicago, Il 60699-3255 or call 877-876-2455 and state “fraud” when prompted, or visit https://www.uspis.gov/report/ and complete the online form.