Reporting Fraudulent/Imposter Unemployment Claims
You may have already seen communication recently from Employers Edge, but as a follow up to our Encompass update from April, we wanted to ensure you were aware that imposter unemployment insurance (UI) claims continue to be a national problem. While some states may experience higher concentrations than others, it is not a new issue, but continues to plague both innocent victims and state UI agencies. What is an imposter claim? In the UI world, it is an unemployment claim filed by a “bad actor” using the credentials of another person. In other words, it is another form of identity theft.
Recently, many corporate senior executives have found themselves victims of an imposter UI claim. The fraudsters, in an attempt to get the “most bang for their buck,” will often target full-time workers and/or those with higher earnings. The higher the earnings, the higher the weekly unemployment benefit amount (up to the state’s maximum, of course). That being said, we see imposter UI claims filed under the identities of employees at all levels of an organization.
Unfortunately, by the time an imposter/fraudulent unemployment claim is filed, the information used to file it has previously been obtained through any number of sources. Click here to be taken to a June 2020 press release from the Federal Bureau of Investigations that provides a deeper dive into this phenomenon. Just as with other forms of identity theft, the victim, generally, may not be aware that their data has been compromised until a fraudulent credit account - or an imposter unemployment claim - has been opened in his/her name.
What can be done?
Proactively, everyone - individuals and corporations - is encouraged to practice good cyber and security hygiene such as strong/complex passwords, not using shared computers, and so on.
What happens if a “suspicious” unemployment claim is received for a current employee?
Verify with him/her that a legitimate UI claim was not filed
Advise your Employers Edge team via phone or email that this worker is still employed and did not file a claim
Provide the tips, found below, to your employee/victim so he/she can report the activity
Do not have your employee/victim contact your Employers Edge UI team. This incident is no different than any other type of identity theft, and as such, your team is unable to provide any additional guidance or support to him/her outside of the tips found below.
What if a UI claim was not received by Employers Edge or the employer?
It is not uncommon for the fraudulent activity to be identified by the employee/victim through correspondence received directly from the UI agency.
If this occurs, the same reporting tips should be initiated by him/her
What does Employers Edge do next?
Responds to the state UI agency with a protest of the claim advising them of the suspected fraudulent nature
Monitors the claim for the receipt of subsequent agency correspondence and responds as warranted
Monitors the receipt of any benefit charges to the employer’s account, that are connected to the imposter claim, and protests to the UI agency, as warranted Employers Edge is not providing, and cannot provide, legal advice on any legal issues relating to state requirements. Your company should work with its legal counsel and other experts to make all determinations regarding specific state obligations.
Worker/Victim Fraud Reporting Guidance
Any worker who finds themselves the victim of an imposter UI claim should utilize the following bullet points to report the incident. It is critical that the impacted individual utilize these directly and not the employer. During the reporting process, information will be solicited to which only the individual will have access and/or which is only known by the individual.
Report the incident to https://identitytheft.gov/ which is managed by the Federal Trade Commission
Contact your local police department and file a report (when possible)
Report the incident to the state UI agency in which the imposter claim was filed using the “Employee / ID Theft Victim” links below
Place a freeze alert on your credit record with each of the 3 credit bureaus:
Equifax - 866/349-5191
Experian - 888/397-3742
TransUnion - 800/680-7289
Order a free credit report at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are currently offering free weekly online reports through April 2021)
Contact your financial providers (banks, credit card companies, and so on.) to flag irregular transactions
Please view the UI Fraud Reporting Guide for State by State information.