Security News > 2020 > May > U.S. Secret Service: “Massive Fraud” Against State Unemployment Insurance Programs
A well-organized Nigerian crime ring is exploiting the COVID-19 crisis by committing large-scale fraud against multiple state unemployment insurance programs, with potential losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a new alert issued by the U.S. Secret Service.
A memo seen by KrebsOnSecurity that the Secret Service circulated to field offices around the United States on Thursday says the ring has been filing unemployment claims in different states using Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information belonging to identity theft victims, and that "a substantial amount of the fraudulent benefits submitted have used PII from first responders, government personnel and school employees."
"In the state of Washington, individuals residing out-of-state are receiving multiple ACH deposits from the State of Washington Unemployment Benefits Program, all in different individuals' names with no connection to the account holder," the notice continues.
The Secret Service alert follows news reports by media outlets in Washington and Rhode Island about millions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment claims in those states.
WPRI in Rhode Island reported on May 4 that the state's Department of Labor and Training has received hundreds of complaints of unemployment insurance fraud, and that "The number of purportedly fraudulent accounts is keeping pace with the unprecedented number of legitimate claims for unemployment insurance."