The Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) is warning the state is experiencing a rise in unemployment benefits fraud due to identity theft.
Connecticut”™s unemployment system is currently receiving several thousand claims per day, but CTDOL stated around 75% are fraudulent and added it is withholding payment until the applicant’s identity can be confirmed. The department traces this situation to the spike in identity theft during the pandemic, when personal and confidential data was available on the dark web for as little as one dollar.
“CTDOL takes immediate action to notify employers when someone has filed against them, as a result, employers are often the first to know that an identity was stolen,” said Danté Bartolomeo, the department”™s commissioner. “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.”
Bartolomeo added that it was “critical that employers and employees report this fraud to CTDOL so we can protect benefits and the Trust Fund from fraud.” He urged employers and individuals who are victimized by identity theft to file reports on the CTDOL website. https://portal.ct.gov/dol/Divisions/BPCU/ID-Theft-Report-Form-iFrame-Page?language=en_US
