Greg's Corner

More fraudulent unemployment claims have been filed than real ones

The state of Colorado has been just one of the many states that has been dealing with record numbers of unemployment fraud. Since last year, unemployment scammers have overwhelmed all 50 states with unheard of amounts of fraudulent unemployment claims. Most, if not all, of the states found themselves unprepared for the onslaught of fraudulent claims. California infamously have paid over $1 billion in fraudulent claims.

The fraudulent claims are coming from scammers who are using stolen identities to apply for fraudulent unemployment benefits. It doesn’t matter if the identity belongs to someone who is employed, they’re still being used in the scam. Some scammers will use the same identity to apply for fraudulent benefits in multiple states.

While not sending out as nearly as much money as California, it’s been recently reported that the state of Colorado has had more fraudulent unemployment claims filed with Colorado’s Department of Labor and Employment than legitimate claims. According to reports, Colorado has issued approximately $6.5 million to fraudsters. The state is looking at that as a win considering they’ve paid $7 billion to actual applicants.

That’s not to say that legitimate recipients haven’t been having problems getting their benefits. While the state is investigating fraudulent claims, some innocent recipients have had their benefits held up until they can verify their identities. Colorado offers options both online and over the phone where recipients can verify their ID. However, the phone lines have been flooded as you might imagine and the online option can be daunting for some.

It’d also not helping that Colorado’s Department of Labor and Employment is also dealing with a phony Facebook page that is impersonating them. The impostor page is asking residents for their personal information.

You may ask why we’re bringing you this story. It’s not to chastise Colorado, but to make our readers aware just how prevalent unemployment fraud has become and that it shows no signs of slowing down. It affects both the employed and unemployed in all 50 states.