Scammers are overwhelming the state Department of Labor with bogus unemployment claims, the State Department of Labor said.The department is receiving thousands of claims a day, about 75 percent of which are suspected to be fraudulent. The claims are “flooding the unemployment system” using stolen identities, which can be purchased cheaply online.Juliet Manalan, a Labor Department spokeswoman, said that unemployment fraud tends to go in cycles.”We see peaks and valleys in terms of fraudulent claims and what we’re seeing now is a very high number,” Manalan said.AdvertisementArticle continues below this adBefore the start of the pandemic, the type of fraud cases that the state Labor Department would see were from individuals who were working a job, but filed a fake claim to collect unemployment payments, she said.”Now, what we are seeing are fraud cases that involve identity theft,” Manalan said. From March 2020 through May 2023, the state Labor Department stopped 385,000 fraudulent claims and protected $3.9 billion in unemployment funds, she said.Connecticut had an improper unemployment payment rate of 18.03 percent during a three year period between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2022, according to federal Labor Department data. The state ranked No. 31 in the country in terms of improper unemployment payments.In a statement, Danté Bartolomeo, the state Commissioner of Labor, urged employers and employees to report instances of apparent fraud. Businesses typically receive notifications when claims are filed against them, while employees receive monetary determination letters.AdvertisementArticle continues below this ad”It’s critical that employers and employees report this fraud to CTDOL so we can protect benefits … from fraud,” said Bartolomeo, who urged employers to look closely at all employees.“In many cases, that employee still works for them. Victims of ID theft also receive a notice of monetary determination, a notification that alerts them that someone has filed a claim using their identity. It’s critical that employers and employees report this fraud to CTDOL so we can protect benefits and the Trust Fund from fraud,” Bartolomeo said.The issue has come up before in Connecticut, where an outside firm found last year that more than half of all unemployment claims through the state’s ReEmployCT system were fraudulent. AdvertisementArticle continues below this adThe department said people should watch out for text, email and social media scams. “Everyone must stay vigilant about identity theft and fraud. Something as simple as posting on social media that you have questions about your unemployment benefits or having problems filing is enough information to help criminals hijack your identity,” Bartolomeo said in comments posted online. “Be fraud aware. Always.”
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