ALBANY, NY – The New York State Department of Labor says it has stopped more than 42,000 fraudulent unemployment claims that could have falsely paid more than $ 1 billion since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.
According to the department, they have sent more fraud cases to federal prosecutors in the past five months than they have in the last 10 years.
“We have a robust and knowledgeable team of fraud investigators and work aggressively with partners in law enforcement to identify fraud and hold these criminals accountable,” said Robert Reardon, state commissioner.
Officials say the criminals are likely to use information stolen in previous data breaches to file fraudulent claims, and collect illegal benefits with the names of people who are not unemployed.
To prevent identity theft, the department advises changing passwords and placing free fraud alerts on accounts through Experian, TransUnion or Equifax.
