Unemployment Fraud Alert

Washington State law enforcement has recently reported investigating a widespread fraud campaign in which victims’ identities are being used to file false unemployment claims. While similar reports have not be issued for Idaho and Oregon, other states across the country are reporting the latest in fraud trends. Victims, who have not filed unemployment claims, have received notification from their employer’s Human Resources department, or the State Employment Securities Department, indicating an unemployment claim has been filed on their behalf.

Employment Security Department Commissioner, Suzi LeVine, released this statement regarding the rise in unemployment imposter fraud attempts:

“Since the start of May – and particularly in the past week – the Employment Security Department has seen a significant rise in reports of imposter fraud. This is where bad actors have stolen Washingtonians’ personal information from sources outside of the agency and are using it to apply for unemployment benefits. To be clear – Employment Security has not had a breach of our system and no data has been taken from our agency.

“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. 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.

“Our agency has many controls and gates in place to prevent, identify and block fraud, and while we have seen a rise in reports of imposter fraud recently, this is by no means new or unique. States across the country are facing the same situation as criminals take advantage of this crisis and the additional benefits available right now.”

Read her full statement.

Steps to Protect Your Financial Identity & Credit History

Step One – Contact Human Resources

Contact your organization’s HR staff to coordinate and report the incident to your employer.

Step Two – Contact Your State’s ESD

Call the State Employment Security Department (ESD) Washington: (800) 246-9763 to report the fraud or contact the ESD via an online form:
https://fortress.wa.gov/esd/webform/ContactUS/

You will need the following information for identity verification:

  • Last 4 of your SSN

  • Date of birth, address

  • Current phone number

  • Information on how you learned a claim was filed on your behalf

Step Three – Police Report

  • File an online or non-emergency report with the agency whose jurisdiction you live in.

  • Start keeping a file folder or journal with the information from this incident, including any case numbers. Some government services and accommodations are available to victims of identity theft that are not available to the general public, such as getting certain public records sealed.

Step Four – The Three Major Credit Bureaus

Obtain your free credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1 (877) 322-8228

Report to the credit bureaus that the fraudulent claim was made using your identity and provide them with the case number from your police report. You can have a fraud alert put on your identity or freeze your credit. Doing either is free by law.

  • A fraud alert is free and will make it harder for someone to open new accounts in your name. To place a fraud alert, contact one of the three credit bureaus. That company must tell the other two.

  • Experian: 1 (888) 397-3742

  • TransUnion: 1 (800) 680-7289

  • Equifax: 1 (888) 766-0008

Check your credit activity at least once a year. As a victim of identity-theft you have the right to check it monthly if you choose.

Credit Freeze – If you do not have upcoming large purchases, such as a home, you may want to freeze your credit for more protection. It is free and you can do it yourself. Find more information about freezing your credit.

Step Five – FTC & IRS

File a short report with the FTC and give them the case number for your local police report. The FTC offers more information here.
Consider setting up an IRS account. If you create an account with your social security number, it will prevent criminals from creating an account using your identity.

Another option is to lock your social security number.. (The next wave of this cyber-attack may be IRS tax fraud.)
All of this reporting seems redundant, but we want to make sure you are recognized as a victim by the local, state, and federal government. Also, the more people who report it, the more support law enforcement agents will receive to pursue the perpetrators.

Step Six – Keep Your Notes

Hang on to any notes, copies of emails, etc regarding the issue. This is the paper trail that you can reference if you face any identity issues or locate inaccuracies on your credit history sometime in the future

Anisa Agulto