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Reporting Fraudulent Unemployment Claims

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Reporting Fraudulent Unemployment Claims

Washington State has recently been reporting a high number of fraudulent unemployment claims due to the unfortunate effect of COVID-19 on employment throughout the country. If you believe someone has applied for unemployment benefits using your information, the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) has provided instructions outlining the steps you can take to report fraudulent claims.
Unemployment Benefits Fraud
Washington state takes unemployment insurance fraud very seriously. If you have reason to believe someone has applied for unemployment benefits using your information or used a scam to obtain your private information, please report that to us using the information below. To report employer tax fraud (employers who do not register with the state and don’t pay their fair share of taxes), go to the Employer tax fraud page on the ESD website.

FOR EMPLOYEES WHO SUSPECT FRAUD

Report Unemployment Fraud

Use the ESD’s secure fraud reporting form to alert us to an imposter claiming benefits under your name. If your employer already has reported to us the fraudulent claim in your name, you don’t need to report it again here. However, you should follow the suggestions below under What should I do if I’m a victim of identity theft?
Fraud Reporting Form

Information you will need to provide when reporting benefit fraud using the ESD’s secure form:

  1. Your full name
  2. Your Social Security number
  3. Your address
  4. Your date of birth
  5. Brief description of how you found out an imposter-fraud claim was filed using your information
  6. Please let them know: If an imposter-fraud claim was filed using your information, do you give the ESD permission to deny and cancel it?

Steps you can take if you believe you are a victim of fraud:

Fraud can also be reported by phone to the Office of Special Investigations.

Please note: The ESD is receiving an extremely high number of calls and the fastest way to report fraud is with the form above.

FOR EMPLOYERS WHO SUSPECT FRAUD

Report Unemployment Fraud as An Employer

If you are an employer and you receive a claim that you believe to be fraudulent, the ESD has outlined steps you can take to report fraud on behalf of your employees:
  1. Download the Benefit Fraud Employer Reporting Template
  2. Enter the requested information for the affected employees
  3. Complete the form and upload the template on the ESD’s Employer Fraud Reporting Page.
Contact Washington ESD:

Toll-free

800-246-9763

Fax

800-301-1796

 

If you should have any questions, please contact our office at (206)243-2336 or email us at office@hawthorne-cpa.com.

Sincerely,

Hawthorne & Co. CPAs

** This information is provided for general educational purposes only. Before taking any action based on this information, we strongly encourage you to consult with a professional accounting advisor about your specific situation.

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