Fraud continues to burden Ohio's already overwhelmed unemployment system. Once a minor issue, fraudulent claims have exploded during the pandemic. At the same time, there are more Ohioans out of work and relying on the system.Fraudulent claims are slowing down payments for the legitimate claimants. Fraudsters steal the identities of Ohioans to file claims in their names. The state still does not know how much money has gone out illegitimately but is working to figure that out. With tax season around the corner, state officials fear many more Ohioans will soon learn their identities were compromised in 2020 without their knowledge.Lisa Hyde-Miller, who lives in Cincinnati found out Thursday that someone tried to steal her identity. She got a call from human resources after she left her job at Roll Hill Community Center."This is not happening. That was the first thing that came to my mind," she said.The human resources employee told her someone applied for unemployment benefits in her name."They used their home address and their home phone number with my name and my social," she said. She said she immediately started making calls and researching what to do next. Hyde-Miller woke up early Friday morning and starting calling the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The numbers she found online at first were no help. Then she came across a WLWT article from August 2020. The story was about a local woman whose personal information had been compromised. Someone filed for unemployment benefits in her name and received thousands of dollars. The woman was having a difficult time getting in touch with the right people to stop the payments. She said she spent hours on hold, emailed and faxed the ODJFS and two weeks later, still was not having any luck. WLWT took her situation to ODJFS and found that her complaints were not going to the right place. We provided tips in our story with the correct contact information. Hyde-Miller said she used the information in that story to solve her own case and was on the phone with the person she needed within 45 minutes. "You gave me the right number to call," she said. "Here it is four, five months later and it helped me out today."Ohio's overwhelmed unemployment system gets similar calls daily. ODJFS Director Kim Henderson said the agency saw more than a 2,000% increase in unemployment claims in March. Despite hiring more employees, the agency still has not been able to catch up. Henderson said the number of fraudulent claims is a big part of the reason why. "The impact on the team and our capacity has been tremendous," she said. "I hear the concerns of those who are waiting."The fraud is so widespread both Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said unemployment claims have been filed in their names. The overwhelming majority of the fraudulent attempts are occurring in the state's federal pandemic unemployment assistance program, coined PUA, as opposed to the state's regular unemployment program.Husted said this week that 796,000 of the state's 1.4 million PUA claims have been flagged for 'potential fraud.' That is more than half of them. Henderson said her agency is preparing to mail 1.7 million 1099-G tax forms to Ohioans on the record as receiving unemployment benefits in 2020. The agency caught nearly 170,000 forms, determined to be linked to fraudulent claims before they were sent out, but it knows there could be hundreds of thousands more."We know some individuals will be receiving forms who did not actually file for or receive benefits are likely victims of identity theft," she said. Henderson said the state sent approximately 2,000 1099-G tax forms to Ohioans for 2019, in comparison to 1.7 million for 2020.ODJFS recommends people take the following steps if you feel like you may be a fraud victim:Visiting the ODJFS unemployment website and click 'Report identity theft' Accessing the ODJFS fraud page at jfs.ohio.gov/fraud and clicking on the “Unemployment Insurance Claimant” button, which will take the victim to an online form to fill outCalling 1-800-686-1555 and pressing Option 1.Faxing information to 1-614-752-4808.Or sending ODJFS an email to ucbenprotest@jfs.ohio.gov.If you are determined to be a victim of fraud:Follow all the steps above to alert ODJFSReview your credit report and place an initial fraud alert on your credit file File a police report File your taxes
Fraud continues to burden Ohio's already overwhelmed unemployment system. Once a minor issue, fraudulent claims have exploded during the pandemic. At the same time, there are more Ohioans out of work and relying on the system.
Fraudulent claims are slowing down payments for the legitimate claimants. Fraudsters steal the identities of Ohioans to file claims in their names. The state still does not know how much money has gone out illegitimately but is working to figure that out.
With tax season around the corner, state officials fear many more Ohioans will soon learn their identities were compromised in 2020 without their knowledge.
Lisa Hyde-Miller, who lives in Cincinnati found out Thursday that someone tried to steal her identity.
She got a call from human resources after she left her job at Roll Hill Community Center.
"This is not happening. That was the first thing that came to my mind," she said.
The human resources employee told her someone applied for unemployment benefits in her name.
"They used their home address and their home phone number with my name and my social," she said.
She said she immediately started making calls and researching what to do next.
Hyde-Miller woke up early Friday morning and starting calling the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The numbers she found online at first were no help. Then she came across a WLWT article from August 2020.
The story was about a local woman whose personal information had been compromised. Someone filed for unemployment benefits in her name and received thousands of dollars. The woman was having a difficult time getting in touch with the right people to stop the payments. She said she spent hours on hold, emailed and faxed the ODJFS and two weeks later, still was not having any luck.
WLWT took her situation to ODJFS and found that her complaints were not going to the right place. We provided tips in our story with the correct contact information.
Hyde-Miller said she used the information in that story to solve her own case and was on the phone with the person she needed within 45 minutes.
"You gave me the right number to call," she said. "Here it is four, five months later and it helped me out today."
Ohio's overwhelmed unemployment system gets similar calls daily. ODJFS Director Kim Henderson said the agency saw more than a 2,000% increase in unemployment claims in March. Despite hiring more employees, the agency still has not been able to catch up. Henderson said the number of fraudulent claims is a big part of the reason why.
"The impact on the team and our capacity has been tremendous," she said. "I hear the concerns of those who are waiting."
The fraud is so widespread both Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said unemployment claims have been filed in their names.
The overwhelming majority of the fraudulent attempts are occurring in the state's federal pandemic unemployment assistance program, coined PUA, as opposed to the state's regular unemployment program.
Husted said this week that 796,000 of the state's 1.4 million PUA claims have been flagged for 'potential fraud.' That is more than half of them.
Henderson said her agency is preparing to mail 1.7 million 1099-G tax forms to Ohioans on the record as receiving unemployment benefits in 2020. The agency caught nearly 170,000 forms, determined to be linked to fraudulent claims before they were sent out, but it knows there could be hundreds of thousands more.
"We know some individuals will be receiving forms who did not actually file for or receive benefits are likely victims of identity theft," she said.
Henderson said the state sent approximately 2,000 1099-G tax forms to Ohioans for 2019, in comparison to 1.7 million for 2020.
ODJFS recommends people take the following steps if you feel like you may be a fraud victim:
- Visiting the ODJFS unemployment website and click 'Report identity theft'
- Accessing the ODJFS fraud page at jfs.ohio.gov/fraud [jfs.ohio.gov] and clicking on the “Unemployment Insurance Claimant” button, which will take the victim to an online form to fill out
- Calling 1-800-686-1555 and pressing Option 1.
- Faxing information to 1-614-752-4808.
- Or sending ODJFS an email to ucbenprotest@jfs.ohio.gov.
If you are determined to be a victim of fraud:
- Follow all the steps above to alert ODJFS
- Review your credit report and place an initial fraud alert on your credit file
- File a police report
- File your taxes
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