Massachusetts unemployment checks could be delayed as state responds to nationwide scam

Massachusetts UI application

Massachusetts unemployment application portalMass.gov

Massachusetts residents relying on unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic will likely wait longer to receive their checks after the state detected fraudulent claims linked to a nationwide scam, officials said.

The state Department of Unemployment Assistance is implementing additional identity verification steps after finding “large amounts of illegitimate unemployment claims” through the state’s unemployment portal. The verification measures will temporarily delay unemployment payments in Massachusetts, DUA officials said in a news release Wednesday.

“While the program integrity measures we are taking will unfortunately mean that some claimants will experience temporary delays in payment, we believe these steps are necessary to respond to this unemployment scam," Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta said in a statement. "We are working rapidly to respond to this scheme and urge individuals who may have had a false unemployment claim filed in their name to contact the department.”

The DUA has received more than 860,000 unemployment claims since mid-March. With the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, the state has recorded more than a million jobless claims.

The state has paid more than $2.3 billion in benefits since mid-March, according to the state’s estimates on April 30. But the DUA declined to say how many fraudulent claims the office received or approved as part of the scam, if any, citing the ongoing investigation.

Multiple states have lost money to fraudulent claims in recent weeks as part of a nationwide scam organized by a cybercrime gang that is believed to have obtained personal information through previous nationwide data breaches. A memo from U.S. Secret Service investigators states they had information suggesting a Nigerian fraud ring was behind the scam and that it could lead to “potential losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to the New York Times.

Washington state admitted it lost hundreds of millions of dollars to fraudulent unemployment claims, NPR reported.

Unemployment applicants in Massachusetts will also be asked to offer additional information to verify their identity, though DUA did not elaborate on what that would look like.

The DUA urged residents who believe their identity may have been stolen to file a false unemployment claim to contact the department at mass.gov/unemployment-fraud or by calling 877-626-6800.

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