Illinois IDES unemployment checks are being stolen by thieves who are diverting funds from recipient accounts and sending them to alternate accounts
The past year and a half has seen many people in Illinois losing jobs, dealing with financial difficulties against a backdrop of the stress from the pandemic. Additionally, many people were forced to go on unemployment in order to make ends meet and that led to frustration and problems resulting in part from the speed with which the state attempted to disperse checks once the federal government sent the funds.
On the less serious side of the problems were the frustrations many people felt over the inability to reach the IDES office or receive a callback. Starting at the beginning of the pandemic and continuing to be a problem for many, Illinois IDES callback complaints were frequent with some saying they waited months only to be hung up on. Initially these calls were to file a claim but later on they were to get help with fraudulent claims made in recipients names or after letters went out claiming that recipients had been overpaid and were required to pay the extra money back.
Then it was determined that those in who had been overpaid through no fault of their own, would not be required to pay back the money, which was a great relieve. What wasn’t such a relief was that the Feds decided that Illinois would be able to take a year to refund money they unfairly demanded from residents for unemployment overpayments.
If all that weren’t enough, now some Illinois residents who are on unemployment have said that their accounts are being hacked and their money is being taken. Some people have had their phone checks diverted and sent to different banks by the thieves. Along with the hardship that comes with the loss of the money, many are worried about their personal information which may also have been stolen and what the thieves my use it for.
Valerie, a financial analyst in Illinois who is currently unemployed due to the pandemic, is one of the individuals targeted by these thieves. She asked that her last name not be used because she's a victim of identity theft.
"I can make sense of what happened, but how can we fix this so it won't happen to anyone else?" she asked. "Beyond the money we have to live knowing our information is out there."
Valerie said she realized someone changed her password in the Illinois state unemployment application system and had diverted her unemployment check to a different bank, not the one she had set up online.
"Someone had gone into the unemployment system and changed my bank, then all of a sudden, I was locked out of IDES," Valerie said. At that point, she could no longer access her account or information in the system.
The same thing happened to Illinois resident Shawna, who also asked to not have her last name shared. After not receiving her payments for a few weeks she went into the online IDES system to check her information. That was when she realized her information was wrong and someone else had entered a different bank account.
"It was going to a different bank. That's when I realized my deposit info had changed," she said.
Both of these women called IDES, and were told that they have people investigation. They added that they received numerous complaints about this problem in just the last few weeks.
IDES replied, "This type of fraudulent activity does occur" adding that "identity theft-related unemployment fraud has been rampant across the country during the pandemic, and this is another outcome of that type of fraud, particularly as it relates to increased phishing schemes across various platforms (email, text, social media message)".
IDES further stated that this fraud "is often the result of individuals having weak security measures in place, or sharing information about their claim online."
This last comment upset many or those affected as they feel they take necessary precautions and that IDES is trying to transfer the blame to them.
Both Valery and Shawna stated that they take extra precautions when it comes to their personal information.
Victims as well as online financial experts say that it is the state that should be increasing its security measures to prevent fraud, including adding the common feature of two-factor authentication.
Tip-offs That You May be a Victim of This Crime
- You receive a notification that you have failed the security verification for your unemployment application
- You receive a letter from your state saying you have received a determination regarding unemployment insurance, and you did not apply for unemployment benefits
- You receive a letter from the state notifying you that you are potentially eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), but you have not applied for unemployment
- You have given your personal information to a person who is cold-calling you on the telephone, at your door, or on social media claiming they will file unemployment benefits on your behalf for a fee
What Can You Do if You Believe This Has Happened to You?
- If you learn an unemployment claim has been filed in your name, and you did not file the claim, make a report to the Illinois State Department of Labor immediately. This is critical for beginning the recovery process. This link will help you report the fraud and make a start to reclaiming you money.
- Notify your employer of the fraudulent claim, because they will also need to file documentation.
- File a complaint at the National Center for Disaster Fraud https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form or (866) 720-5721.
How Can You Protect Yourself From Having This Happen to You?
- A pro-active step you may consider is to create an online benefits account with your state regardless of your employment status. Having the account doesn’t mean you must file an employment claim. But having the account is an obstacle to scammers because it makes it harder to use your stolen identity information to open a new account without your knowledge, or without alerting the system of their unauthorized behavior. To set up a benefits account, most states will request your Social Security Number, and ask you to set up a PIN and a password in order to open the account.
- Ensure your computer security is in good order. In particular make sure the passwords to all of your financial and other accounts are unique. If possible, add a second factor for authentication. When asked to create a PIN, or Personal Identification Number, don’t use your birthday or a guessable number. If you have not changed your passwords in a while, now is a good time to do so.
- Take advantage of credit monitoring services if you have been notified your information was exposed in a data breach. If you do not have access to credit monitoring, use the Congressionally mandated www.annualcreditreport.com, where you can get a free credit report from each credit reporting bureau once each year. Many credit cards allow you to check your credit report as often as you like, and you can set up a notification that will alert you each time it changes
- If you have ongoing activities related to identity theft, you can set a security freeze that does not allow any new credit to be opened in your name. You can read more about security freezes and how they work at the World Privacy Forum Security Freeze Page.
- For a detailed identity theft recovery plan, see the FTC’s detailed interactive guide to build a customized recovery plan
Remember: for unemployment benefits fraud, the most important first step is to notify the state of Illinois of the fraud. Then move forward to assess additional steps you may want to take.