Washington Pauses Unemployment Payments To Investigate Fraud [View all]

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OLYMPIA, WA — Washington will stop unemployment payments for up to two days while the state works to counter a sharp increase in fraudulent claims filed since the beginning of May.

According to the Employment Security Department, the state has paid out roughly $2.9 billion in unemployment assistance over the last 10 weeks, and jobless claims have soared to record levels in the wake of widespread business closures related to the coronavirus.

The Seattle Times reports impostors took an estimated $1.6 million between March and April, even before a surge in illegal activity this month.

"This is where bad actors have stolen Washingtonians' personal information from sources outside of the agency and are using it to apply for unemployment benefits," department commissioner Suzi LeVine said. "To be clear — Employment Security has not had a breach of our system and no data has been taken from our agency."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/washington-pauses-unemployment-payments-to-investigate-fraud/ar-BB1464or?ocid=hplocalnews

Earlier this week I received a letter from the state asking for more info from me on an unemployment claim. I hadn't filed a claim and let them know.