Washington Pauses Unemployment Payments To Investigate Fraud
OLYMPIA, WA — Washington will stop unemployment payments for up to two days while the state works to counter a sharp increase in fraudulent claims filed since the beginning of May.
According to the Employment Security Department, the state has paid out roughly $2.9 billion in unemployment assistance over the last 10 weeks, and jobless claims have soared to record levels in the wake of widespread business closures related to the coronavirus.
The Seattle Times reports impostors took an estimated $1.6 million between March and April, even before a surge in illegal activity this month.
"This is where bad actors have stolen Washingtonians' personal information from sources outside of the agency and are using it to apply for unemployment benefits," department commissioner Suzi LeVine said. "To be clear — Employment Security has not had a breach of our system and no data has been taken from our agency."
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LeVine said the information may have been stolen during other incidents, such as the Equifax breach, and some victims may not be aware that their information was previously compromised.
To combat further theft, the department increased the number of agents working the fraud hotline to more than 100 Wednesday, and the state plans to hire more fraud investigators. LeVine said Washington will cross-match its data with other state agencies and work with the federal government to help detect more suspicious filings.
According to the Employment Security Department, victims of fraud who still need to apply for benefits will be able to do so.
Learn more about the anti-fraud measures here.
Unemployment Claims Grow 20 Percent In Washington
New jobless claims in Washington rose by more than 8 percent last week, as another 109,425 workers filed for unemployment benefits.
According to the Employment Security Department, more than 1 million Washingtonians have sought unemployment since the first week of March, and 1.77 million initial claims have been filed during the coronavirus pandemic. Across the United States, approximately 36 million Americans are now without work, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Claims filed in Washington from May 3-9:
Regular Unemployment Insurance (Initial Claims) | 109,425 |
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (Initial Claims) | 55,911 |
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (Initial Claims) | 47,626 |
Continued/Ongoing Weekly Claims | 1,088,602 |
Total Claims Filed Last Week | 1,301,564 |
State unemployment office limits inbound calls until May 20
Washington's unemployment call center is limiting inbound calls for one week to allow agents time to devote their efforts toward resolving "complex issues" for filers who have waited longest for their benefits.
The call center will continue to accept calls from applicants without online access, and those submitting weekly claims.
The state's automated telephone system, for submitting weekly claims, remains active and can be reached at 833-572-8400. Applications may also be filed online.
According to LeVine, many days have seen more than 100 calls per second at peak times, and cutting down that number will free up staff to work on 57,000 claims awaiting resolution. Under the commissioner's "Operation 100%," the state aims to have all of those claims resolved or paid by mid-June.
Learn more about the modified calling hours here.
[NORECIRC]
This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch
