Scams that abuse the unemployment insurance program are widespread, and the amount of damage is tens of billions of yen annually
According to the
US Secret Service: “Massive Fraud” Against State Unemployment Insurance Programs — Krebs on Security
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/05/us-secret-service-massive-fraud-against-state-unemployment-insurance-programs/
According to USSS documents, criminals use personal information such as stolen social security numbers to claim unemployment insurance claims in multiple states. Most of the personal information used for insurance claims came from first responders , government officials, and school staff.
In the state of Washington, we have seen multiple transfers from unemployment insurance programs through an automated clearing house (ACH) to personal accounts outside the state. In addition, it is reported in the USSS document that the person who manages this account has nothing to do with the owner.
Elaine Dodd, Vice President, Fraud Division of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, said banks in Oklahoma cost as much as $ 9000 to $ 20,000 from Washington's unemployment insurance program. It was said that remittances had been flooded. It seems that these transfers have already been stopped by bankers.
'Similar unemployment insurance scams have been identified in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Florida.' I'm guessing that I have a good personal information database. '
It is also pointed out that there is a fraudulent group that makes a claim for income tax refund to the
Krebs succeeded in interviewing a USSS agent on condition that he remains anonymous. Investigators say that many states do not have enough controls to dismiss fraudulent claims to 'detect applications containing the same email address or bank account,' some say name and social. The unemployment insurance claim will be processed just by submitting the security number and basic information. Therefore, even a third party can easily claim for unemployment insurance.
Mr. Krebs said that the reason for the rapid increase in unemployment insurance fraud was 'the number of unemployed people increased due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection, and the authorities were full of complaints and inquiries.' I have listed. In fact, the states that are the target of unemployment insurance fraud have the highest number of unemployment claims since 2020, and it is said that approximately 30% of the working population in Washington is unemployed.
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The Washington Department of Employment Standards said, 'In the period March-April 2020, the number of unemployment insurance fraud claims reached 700, about 27 times the usual number.' We've been flooded with so many email inquiries, and we've temporarily closed our email contact. '
According to a report from the US Treasury (PDF file) , about $ 48 billion (about 5 trillion yen) was spent on the unemployment insurance program in April 2020 alone. The USSS said in a document that 'all financial institutions, including local banks, credit unions, and large national banks, are being targeted. It is highly probable that all states are vulnerable to this fraud.' It is high and we expect more states to be targeted in the future. '
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