Washington sees ‘dramatic rise’ in unemployment fraud claims during COVID-19 pandemic
The Washington State Employment Security Department said in a news release Monday, May 18, that it has seen a “dramatic rise” in unemployment imposter fraud through the first half of May as it continues to deal with the strains of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is happening because bad actors have acquired people’s personal information through other data breaches outside of the agency,” Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said in the release. “Criminals then use this information to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in someone else’s name. There has been no data breach from ESD’s system.”
Fraudulent claims were already running rampant before May, as the state and the nation deal with the implications of COVID-19.
The Employment Security Department told The Seattle Times for a May 14 story that the number of fraudulent unemployment benefit claims jumped 27-fold to 700 between March and April and suspected criminals collected nearly $1.6 million.
Western Washington University told The Times that 410 of its 2,463 employees (16.6%) had been targeted by fraudulent claims.
Bellingham Public Schools reported 46 employees had potentially fraudulent claims filed in their names, according to a May 8 story by The Times.
Whatcom Educational Credit Union said in a release Friday, May 15, that it has been contacted by several local educators who have seen fraudulent unemployment claims filed in their names.
“What we are seeing is that a victims’ personal information has been stolen from some other source, for example in one of the massive external data breaches like the Equifax breach, and is then used by criminals to apply for benefits and attempt to route those payments to their own bank accounts,” LeVine said in a May 14 release. “Many Washingtonians did not know their information had been stolen in the past, and this situation has only illuminated that fact as fraudsters attempt to get unemployment benefits in Washingtonians’ names.”
LeVine said this type of fraud is not new or unique to Washington, and her department has already taken a number of steps in an effort “to prevent, identify and block fraud,” including:
▪ Increasing the number of agents on the department’s fraud line, including 100 who started Thursday, May 13.
▪ Hiring additional fraud investigators.
▪ Working with other state agencies in Washington, other states and the U.S. Department of Labor to detect fraud activity.
The Employment Security Department also last week began holding payments an additional one to two days to validate claims, LeVine reported. Some customers are now asked to verify or provide certain information, according to Monday’s release.
“We are constantly evaluating our processes and systems to ensure we can pay benefits as quickly as possible to those who are qualified while not creating more opportunity for imposter fraud,” LeVine said in Friday’s release.
What to do
If you suspect someone has made a fraudulent claim in your name, the Employment Security Department suggested in its release Friday you take these steps:
▪ Report it to the Federal Trade Commission identity theft website at identitytheft.gov.
▪ Request free credit reports at annualcreditreport.com and review them for fraudulent activity.
▪ Find additional tips from the Washington State Attorney General at atg.wa.gov/recovering-identity-theft-or-fraud.
“I also suggest victims consider reviewing their credit reports and placing a free credit freeze on their credit files at the big three credit bureaus if they haven’t done so already,” WWU Vice Provost Information Technology and CIO Chuck Lanham said in the WECU release. “While a credit freeze would not stop unemployment fraud, it could protect their credit if their data is being used in other damaging ways.”
In a Facebook post Monday, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office also suggested:
▪ Contacting your employer’s human resources department.
▪ Reporting it to the Employment Security Department (forms are available at fortress.wa.gov/esd/file/SecureUpload/unemploymentfraud/report) and the Internal Revenue Service.
▪ Keeping copies of all notes and emails relating to the claim.
Whatcom County 911 said in a Facebook post Tuesday, May 19, that it has received a number of 911 calls on fraud attempts and reminded residents to report it to the above resources, rather than calling emergency dispatchers.
Things to remember
In Friday’s release, LeVine reminded Washington residents that:
▪ Victims of fraud will not have to repay money fraudulent claimed in their names by someone else.
▪ Victims of fraud will still be able to apply for unemployment benefits if and when they need them.
▪ The Employment Security Department will only be reaching out through the esd.wa.gov domain and asking people to provide information on its website.
“This is such a difficult and unprecedented time, and unfortunately criminals use situations like these to try and gain advantage,” LeVine said in Friday’s release. “While our agency is working around the clock to quickly get benefits out to Washingtonians who need them, we also are maintaining vigilance and taking action to combat fraudulent activities so we may pay out legitimate claims and block those who seek to do harm.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 10:42 AM.
