Unemployment scams hit Pennsyvania, officials warn
When the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry put out a news release last week warning about potential scams related to unemployment benefits amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there had not yet been evidence that scammers had targeted the commonwealth.
That changed over the weekend.
In a Tuesday afternoon conference call with reporters, officials revealed that there had been some instances in Pennsylvania where unemployment claims were falsely made in the names of other people, even if those individuals had never filed an unemployment claim and were even still employed. Jerry Oleksiak, the labor and industry secretary, declined to divulge any details about the scam, saying only that it was under investigation. But he did say the department’s systems had not been compromised, and that identities and other personal information had been improperly procured through other means.
Olekisak said all Pennsylvanians should “keep a close eye on their credit rating and other personal information,” and they should not cash or deposit a check if they have not applied for unemployment benefits.
“We are continuing to fight the fraud battle, and we’re doing what we can to stop it,” Oleksiak said.
The labor and industry department said last week that scams that had been perpetrated in other states seemed to involve Social Security numbers or other personally identifiable information being pilfered. The department specifically warned against responding to anyone who says they can help file an unemployment claim for a fee or anyone who says they are from the labor and industry department and asserts they need money to complete an application.
When someone files an unemployment claim with the state, representatives will ask for the last four digits of someone’s Social Security number, but not the whole number.
In the conference call, Oleksiak also said Pennsylvania had paid out $10 billion in unemployment benefits since businesses and other institutions started shutting down in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it has received more than 400,000 email queries.