“The Winnetka Police Department received 214 reports from residents during the past six months whose personal information was used for fraudulent unemployment claims, Winnetka Police Chief Marc Hornstein said.”
River Forest resident Joe Marrazzo phoned his local police department this week to file a report, but even before he had a chance to explain his problem, the dispatcher swiftly interjected: “Is this about a fraudulent unemployment benefits claim?”
“I was already on the lookout when this happened to me, because it had already happened to my mother and brother,” said Marrazzo, 49, a video editor who is among the more than 350,000 individuals across Illinois whose personal identities have been used for fraudulent unemployment claims in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What’s really crazy is, this is happening to everyone, so why have we not heard more about this?” Marrazzo added.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, suburban Chicago law enforcement officials say their departments have been bombarded with surging numbers of fraudulent unemployment benefit reports. At times, they are fielding dozens of nearly identical calls from frustrated residents in a single day. In some suburbs, the number of reports taken since March now stands in the hundreds.
In most cases, the target discovers the scam when their employer alerts them that a claim has been filed in their name despite still being employed. A letter then arrives from the state detailing the unemployment benefits, and often times, a debit card is included in the mailing.
The investigation into the spiraling number of fraudulent claims is being handled by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, a state agency already overwhelmed by a record number of legitimate unemployment compensation claims filed by workers who have lost their jobs during the pandemic.
If this has happened to you, read on here. To report unemployment insurance identity theft fraud, click.
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