Increase in unemployment claims brings heightened risk of fraud

As new unemployment claims rise, impostors seek to scam the unemployment system at the expense of the state, employees, and employers. Here’s how to respond to—and lower the risk of—fraudulent unemployment claims.

Spike in unemployment fraud accompanies increased claims to ESD

As many businesses are forced to furlough or layoff employees in the wake of COVID-19, unemployment claims have spiked precipitously. Although the number of unemployment claims filed per week with the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) has fallen from the early-April high of 182,000, the ESD continues to receive around 100,000 new claims per week as of May 9.

According to ESD Commissioner Suzie LeVine, the wave of new unemployment claims includes a dramatic increase in the number of fraudulent requests, prompting the department to pause all unemployment payments for two days in May to address the onslaught of fake claims. The ESD estimates that, in March and April, fraudulent claims increased to 27 times the pre-COVID rate and that $1.6 million may have been paid to fake claimants. In addition to filching government funds, fake claims, if unresolved, will increase the cost of employers’ unemployment insurance.