Rise in Fraudulent Illinois Unemployment Claims

Have you received a notice indicating you or one of your current employees has registered for unemployment benefits? The cause could be unemployment fraud.

The Illinois Department of Employement Security (IDES) says as of early November 2020 more than 212,000 fraudulent claims have been made since March. Fraudsters have been using victims’ names to file fraudulent claims and then looking for ways to divert the benefit payments to themselves.

According to IDES, signs to help spot unemployment insurance identity theft include, but are not limited to the following:

• Receiving a debit card or an unemployment insurance letter (UI Finding) and you have not filed a claim for benefits
• You are notified by your employer that a claim for benefits has been filed when you have not been separated from employment.
• You attempt to file a claim online and one already exists
• You receive IRS correspondence regarding unreported UI Benefits
• You receive notice of a state or federal tax offset.

What steps should I take if any of the above signs pertain to me?

• Report the fraudulent claim at the IDES website https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/Report-Identity-Theft.aspx
• DO NOT activate the debit card that was mailed to you
• Do Not contact KeyBank (debit card issuer)
• Request your free credit reports via http://www.annualcreditreport.com, Credit Karma, or a similar service

Sources:

Illinois Department of Employment Security (https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/default.aspx)

NBC 5 Chicago (https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/illinois-residents-still-targeted-in-unemployment-fraud-scheme/2405927/)