Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor & Industry announced it is putting additional anti-fraud and identification measures in place for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program following a spike in suspicious applications.Payments for new applicants are being temporarily delayed until the new measures are implemented, L&I said.People who have already opened a PUA claim are not affected. Claimants of other unemployment compensation programs run by L&I are also not affected.L&I said it typically receives about 5,000 PUA claims daily. That number more than quadrupled last Friday, reaching more than 20,000. Many of the new claims were filed from outside Pennsylvania.Scammers filing claims under stolen identities previously targeted the PUA within the first few weeks it was implemented, L&I said, prompting security measures to identify and prevent payout for fraudulent claims.”The bad behavior of these scammers is hurting Pennsylvanians, and we are continuing to work with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, U.S. Attorneys, and other state and federal agencies to identify those responsible,” L&I Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said.Pennsylvanians who believe their identity was stolen and used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits can report the theft online.L&I said people who have received unemployment benefits they did not apply for should not use the funds and instead return them. Instructions on how to return the money are available at the Office of Unemployment compensation website.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor & Industry announced it is putting additional anti-fraud and identification measures in place for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program following a spike in suspicious applications.
Payments for new applicants are being temporarily delayed until the new measures are implemented, L&I said.
People who have already opened a PUA claim are not affected. Claimants of other unemployment compensation programs run by L&I are also not affected.
L&I said it typically receives about 5,000 PUA claims daily. That number more than quadrupled last Friday, reaching more than 20,000. Many of the new claims were filed from outside Pennsylvania.
Scammers filing claims under stolen identities previously targeted the PUA within the first few weeks it was implemented, L&I said, prompting security measures to identify and prevent payout for fraudulent claims.
“The bad behavior of these scammers is hurting Pennsylvanians, and we are continuing to work with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, U.S. Attorneys, and other state and federal agencies to identify those responsible,” L&I Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said.
Pennsylvanians who believe their identity was stolen and used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits can report the theft online.
L&I said people who have received unemployment benefits they did not apply for should not use the funds and instead return them. Instructions on how to return the money are available at the Office of Unemployment compensation website.
