Scammers stage a fake workers' compensation hearing and demand legal fees to release the award
Injured workers — primarily Spanish speakers — receive emails inviting them to a video hearing. Actors play a judge, bailiff, and lawyers; the hearing ends with a settlement in the worker's favor. Scammers then demand "legal fees" to release the money, which never exists.
Also known as: fake workers comp hearing scam, fake workers compensation settlement scam, workers comp legal fee scam, fake online injury hearing scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Do not pay any fee. Legitimate workers' compensation programs never require you to pay money to receive benefits — a demand for 'legal fees' or 'court costs' is a certain sign of fraud
- 2 Do not share your Social Security number with anyone who contacted you unsolicited about a hearing you did not schedule
- 3 Contact your actual employer, your real workers' comp insurer, or your state's workers' compensation agency through its official .gov website to verify any proceeding
- 4 If you already paid, report to your state Attorney General, your state's Division of Consumer Protection, and file at IdentityTheft.gov if you provided your SSN
- 5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ You were invited to a workers' comp hearing by email from a non-government domain like @workcompcourt.org — official agencies use .gov addresses
- ⚠ The hearing takes place on WhatsApp, Zoom, or Teams — real workers' comp hearings use official state agency channels, never consumer video apps
- ⚠ The verdict is in your favor but you must pay a 'legal fee,' 'court cost,' or 'processing fee' before the money is released
- ⚠ You are asked to provide your Social Security number during or after the video hearing
- ⚠ The agency contacting you has a name like 'Workers' Compensation Board' but is not a known state agency and its website does not end in .gov
- ⚠ The email or call came to you unsolicited — you did not initiate any claim through this agency
Sources
- Wisconsin DWD — Sophisticated email scams targeting injured workers (July 20, 2026)
- Wisconsin Watch / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service — Scammers target injured Wisconsin Spanish-speaking workers with fake compensation hearings (July 22, 2026)
- National Insurance Crime Bureau — Work comp scam targets Spanish-speaking injured workers (June 2026)
- WTMJ / Wisconsin DWD — Workers' compensation scam alert (July 20, 2026)