ESD struggles with unemployment fraud

MOSES LAKE — With fraud rampant in the state’s unemployment insurance program, officials with the state’s Employment Security Department (ESD) are going to delay initial unemployment insurance payment to all new applicants for one to two days in order to make sure those claims are legitimate.

“This is a big, big problem,” said Todd Wurl, head of the ESD’s WorkSource program in Moses Lake.

Wurl spoke during a regular weekly webinar held Thursday by the Grant County Economic Development Council and the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce to update business owners and employees on the latest information about aid to small businesses and help for those who have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 closures.

No one has breached the ESD’s computer system and stolen identities from the state, Wurl said. Rather, they are making use of data they have stolen elsewhere — something the ESD has long been familiar with, he explained.

“This is not new. But the volume is,” Wurl said.

To handle that volume, ESD is adding new employees to help handle fraud investigations, he said.

Anyone who finds their identity has been stolen can contact ESD through its fraud reporting website and send an email with their full name, last four digits of their Social Security number, date of birth, how they found out about the fraudulent claim, and whether or not they give permission to deny or cancel that claim.

Wurl said people should also make a report on the Federal Trade Commission’s identity theft website and check their credit.

“Is it going on anywhere else?” he said.

No one who has had a false claim filed in their name will have to repay benefits, and having a prior false claim will not affect anyone’s ability to apply for benefits in the future, Wurl said.

Also on Thursday, ESD announced that first-time claims for unemployment rose slightly for the week ending May 9 to 109,425 from the previous week. The number of Washingtonians currently out of work due to the COVID-19 outbreak was 1.03 million.

In Grant County, initial claims rose by 66 to 927 for the week ending May 9, while in Adams County first-time claims rose by 43 to 302 for the same period.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at [email protected].