The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has flagged more than 44,000 new potentially fraudulent unemployment claims and anticipates even more being added to that as a review continues.
The suspected fraud comes from the 140,444 new unemployment claims that were filed last week, which was a 194 percent increase from the prior week. The data released Thursday shows the state has flagged more than 30 percent of last week’s initial unemployment as potentially fraudulent.
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“All of the claims will be reviewed, which will create delays in processing some legitimate claims,” ODJFS said in a statement. “ODJFS is investigating all claims that were flagged for potential fraud and taking steps to implement more robust identity verification in the traditional unemployment program.”
The state said the identity theft and fraud problems that have plagued the state’s system since the pandemic began are not exclusive to Ohio.
Last month, Ohio issued 1.7 million 1099-G tax forms to people whose names were used to receive unemployment benefits in 2020.
“Many of those individuals were never paid unemployment benefits and did not know their identity had been compromised until they received a 1099-G form,” ODJFS said.
The state has established a toll-free number for people to notify ODJFS if they believe their personal information was compromised and used to file a fraudulent claim. That number is (833) 658-0394.
“This phone number complements a secure online portal ODJFS established last month to provide a direct way for victims to report identity theft,” ODJFS said.
Ohioans can visit unemployment.ohio.gov and click the ‘Report Identity Theft’ button as well.
Cox Media Group
