Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, many workers are unemployed or partially unemployed, which has resulted in a massive increase in unemployment claims. Fraudsters are taking advantage of the influx of claims and are filing false claims on behalf of another individual or using false information on their own claims.
Unemployment Fraud is committed by people who claim unemployment benefits they are not entitled to, and who help others claim benefits they are not entitled to.
How To Stop Fraudulent Claims
If an employee is a victim of a fraudulent claim there are important steps that should be taken to minimize the personal impact of identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a website with dedicated resources to help victims of identity theft.
In addition, employers should review their state unemployment website notices for any known unemployment fraud scams and share the information with employees. Recently Wisconsin has published information about several scams on their website and Washington has temporarily suspended unemployment payments due to the increase in fraudulent claims.
Paylocity has a variety of resources about our own information security, to learn more see how we are protecting our clients.
In addition, we offer trainings dedicated to how to protect sensitive data, including personal information. We also have training available about security awareness during an emergency. If you have any questions about the trainings we have available and how to access trainings, please reach out to your account manager.
Thank you for choosing Paylocity as your Payroll Tax and HCM partner.
This information is provided as a courtesy, may change and is not intended as legal or tax guidance. Employers with questions or concerns outside the scope of a Payroll Service Provider are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified CPA, Tax Attorney or Advisor.