HARRISBURG, Pa. — Editor's Note: The above video is from July 28, 2021.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced it will provide free credit-monitoring services to all unemployment compensation (UC) claimants.
This comes as L&I confirmed last week that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are running an ongoing investigation into increasing attacks on Pennsylvania's unemployment system.
In a press release sent on Jan. 21, L&I said any UC claimants interested in the services will be able to register for them "in the near future."
The system would likely allow people to check their credit accounts for free or receive alerts on any suspicious activity in order to consistently monitor for any errors or signs of identity theft.
In the same release, the department said the federal investigation is looking into "what appears to be a highly sophisticated, coordinated effort to infiltrate various government systems." However, L&I stated the investigation has not confirmed a government data breach.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Pennsylvanians have been falling victim to unemployment fraud at much higher rates than before the pandemic. While hackers first targeted the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program – which was specially created to provide unemployment benefits to Americans who lost their jobs due to coronavirus-related disruptions – they have since expanded their reach into the traditional UC system.
In most cases, victims report unknown fraudsters file fake unemployment claims in their name and then collect the payments.
L&I says hackers accessed the personal information of Pennsylvanians through widespread, private sector data breaches.
In a statement sent to FOX43 in July 2021, an L&I spokesperson said "the recent increase in fraud attempts are tied to prior leaks of personal and confidential data, like Social Security numbers, from sources outside of state government."
The statement continued to note that "numerous data leaks have occurred in the private sector over the past two decades, leading to the private information of millions of Americans being obtained by fraudsters."
Pennsylvania upgraded its UC system in June 2021, adding the virtual identity verification vendor ID.me to ramp up fraud protection. However, the system still does not provide multi-factor identification; L&I says "plans are under way" to add that "extra layer of protection."
The department did not release a specific date for when UC claimants can register for free credit-monitoring services.
See below for L&I directions on how to report unemployment fraud.
Reporting Fraud
L&I is encouraging any UC claimant who believes their account has experienced an unusual change to contact the department and follow the steps outlined below.
Online:
- Individuals can report suspected unemployment fraud by visiting the UC Benefits Website and clicking “Report Fraud” at the bottom of the page to complete and submit the Identity Theft Form. Do not log in.
- Employers should indicate the claim is fraudulent in their response to the Notice of Claim Filed.
- To report identity theft fraud related to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, please click here.
To report fraud by phone, call the PA Fraud Hotline at 1-800-692-7469.
L&I recommends that individuals who suspect they are the victims of identity theft to file a police report with local law enforcement and provide a copy of the police report to the Office of Unemployment Compensation.
The U.S. Department of Labor recommends that victims of identity theft should also report their information to the National Center for Disaster Fraud. Victims should also consider starting a recovery plan with the Federal Trade Commission.