HARRISBURG, Pa. — At the end of June, Kathy Bennett was on vacation with her husband Joe, when they received an unexpected email from the human resources department at his workplace.
“Hey, I got an unemployment compensation claim from you. If that’s not legitimate, if you didn’t file it, it’s probably fraud and you need to report it,'" said Kathy Bennett whose husband Joe was a victim of fraud.
They were told to call their local police department and then file an online report with the state department of labor and industry.
“Before we even got home the first unemployment check arrived in the mail," said Bennett.
So far, Bennett has returned three checks.
“You just keep mailing the checks back to the state every week and I can’t understand for the life of me who is benefiting from this," said Bennett.
Bennett says that she doesn’t understand why the checks keep coming, even after she reported the fraud.
“If we’ve told them that this isn’t a legitimate claim and if they reach to the employer and the employer says no… That person still works here," said Bennett.
She says that she knows at least four people who are dealing with the same issue.
The Pennsylvania department of labor and industry says it’s taking those extra steps to prevent it from happening by extending partnership with ID.me
According to the department of labor and industry, ID.me adds an extra later of security by requiring people who file a claim to verify their identity.
“Through our partnership with the id.me for the PUA program, we were able to prevent millions of dollars in taxpayer money from being stolen by fraudsters. We think by using ID.me for the UC program we can replicate this success," said the Pennsylvania Secretary of labor and industry Jennifer Berrier.
Cyber security expert Angela Fantom believes that with the new identity verification system, the state department of labor and industry is taking those extra steps to try and prevent fraud.
“I think they’re just reeling with the backlog of identity thefts, the backlog of people filing claims and that they’re trying to catch up," said Fantom, who works at Penn State Harrisburg.
The department of labor and industry encourages individuals to remain vigilant about guarding their personal and confidential information and to monitor for signs that their information is being used fraudulently.
Note: The video is from May 2021.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry announced Friday it is extending its partnership with ID.me, a virtual identity verification vendor tasked with verifying the identities of all new unemployment compensation claimants.
“We take unemployment benefit fraud very seriously at L&I, and we are committed to working with our partners to prevent fraudulent claims and hold those responsible accountable for their actions,” L&I Secretary Jennifer Berrier said in a press release. “Through our partnership with ID.me for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, we were able to prevent millions of dollars in taxpayer money from being stolen by fraudsters. By using ID.me for the Unemployment Compensation program, we can replicate this success.”
L&I first announced a partnership with ID.me in September after a surge of fraudulent claims were detected in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which is a special program created by the federal government to provide unemployment benefits to individuals who lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are not typically eligible for UC.
The fraudulent claims are not caused by a data leak or breach at L&I, the department said. Instead, they are being filed by fraudsters using identities stolen from data leaks that occurred outside of state government.
ID.me adds a layer of security to L&I’s antifraud measures by requiring individuals filing a new claim to verify their identity, the department said.
While fraudsters initially targeted the PUA program, L&I said it has noticed an uptick in fraudulent UC claims -- most of which are stopped before payment occurs through the department's other antifraud tactics.
"ID.me will catch many fraudulent claims when they are first submitted, allowing L&I staff to direct attention to other issues and preventing the individuals whose identities were stolen and their employers from needing to take any action," the department said.
The use of ID.me also deters fraudsters from attempting to file fraudulent claims, as demonstrated by a reduction in fraud attempts shortly after ID.me was put in place for the PUA program, the department added.
The identity verification step through ID.me has been integrated into the process to file an initial application and takes just a few minutes, according to L&I.
As individuals log into benefits.uc.pa.gov for the first time, they will be walked through the steps of verifying their identity through ID.me.
L&I encourages individuals to remain vigilant about guarding their personal and confidential information and to monitor for signs that their information is being used fraudulently.
Signs of fraud include:
- Individuals receiving unrequested unemployment paperwork from L&I’s Office of Unemployment Compensation.
- Individuals receiving unemployment benefit payments they did not apply for from the Pennsylvania Treasury.
- Employers receiving notice that a claim has been opened for a current employee who is actively working, or an unknown person.
How to Report Fraud
Online:
- Individuals can report suspected unemployment fraud by visiting the UC Benefits Website and clicking "Report Fraud" at the bottom of the page to complete and submit the Identity Theft Form. Do not log in.
- Employers should indicate the claim is fraudulent in their response to the Notice of Claim Filed.
- To report identity theft fraud related to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, please click here.
Phone:
- Call the PA Fraud Hotline at 1-800-692-7469.
Police:
- File a police report with the municipality you resided in at the time the unemployment benefits in question were paid. A copy of the police report must be provided to the Office of Unemployment Compensation.
Other:
- The U.S. Department of Labor recommends that victims of ID theft should also report their information to the National Center for Disaster Fraud.
- Victims should also consider starting a recovery plan with the Federal Trade Commission.
For the latest information about unemployment fraud, visit www.uc.pa.gov or follow L&I on Facebook or Twitter.