MI Unemployment Agency blocks 10k phony claims in late July
LANSING, Mich. (WNEM) - Michigan’s Unemployment Agency (UIA) said it blocked more than 10,000 attempted fraud filings over a three-day period.
Fraudsters were active in late July, according to the UIA. The agency said it capped an eight-day stretch late last month of an elevated number of attempts to create unemployment benefit claims.
It’s not just happening in Michigan, it’s all over the country, the UIA Director Julia Dale said.
“Anyone thinking about committing fraud to try and illegally obtain unemployment benefits should take this as a warning,” she said. “Stopping crime and strengthening the integrity of the unemployment system is UIA’s top priority. Our team spotted the large number of attempts right away and put a stop to any further action on these false claims.”
No money was paid out to the scammers behind the false claims.
The UIA said Michiganders should be vigilant about any suspicious activity involving their personal information.
When a jobless claim is identified as fraudulent, no payment is made and the UIA will send a letter by U.S. mail to the address on file to confirm identity or other key information.
If anyone receives a notification from the UIA about a claim made using their name, but a claim has not filed, report the fraudulent activity right away.
The UIA provides the following these steps to report fraudulent activity:
· Go to Michigan.gov/UIA
· In the Services section, under Unemployment Benefits, click on the Report Fraud or Identity Theft link
· On the Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) screen, click on Report Identity Theft. On the next screen, click on Individual
· Fill out the online form
· Complete a Statement of Identity Theft
· Submit both forms online
If anyone has questions, call the UIA’s customer service line at 1-866-500-0017 during regular business hours.
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