Rampant Identity Theft Discovered in Unemployment Claims: Steps Washington Employers Should Take Now

Rampant Identity Theft Discovered in Unemployment Claims: Steps Washington Employers Should Take Now

Legal Update from Lane Powell

Recent news reports confirm what an increasingly large number of Washington employers are discovering — unemployment fraud is becoming a serious issue in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak as criminals seek to take advantage of more generous unemployment benefits and overwhelmed state investigators.  

If you are a Washington employer who has discovered that a false unemployment claim has been filed, quick action will help mitigate the damage. These are some steps you can take now:

Be Aware

Take steps to notify your employees of the uptick in fraud and to report fraudulent filings to your HR team promptly. Similarly, make sure your HR team is advised of the issue and takes steps to identify and flag suspicious unemployment claims when they receive notice of such claims from the state.

Review Your IT Security

Filing a fraudulent unemployment claim only requires minimal information: an employee name, employer name, social security number, date of birth and address. Criminals can obtain that information from two sources: (1) a company’s IT system or those of its vendors that store employee information or (2) personal information already available on the dark web from past data breaches. Employers should consult with their IT department to confirm that there is no evidence that any databases containing employee information show signs of compromise. If you become aware of a breach of one of your vendors or suspect an internal data security incident, you should reach out to a data security attorney and your insurance broker immediately to determine what steps must be taken to fulfill any legal obligations you may have as a result. Data security legal requirements operate on short timelines, and failure to act can result in substantial legal exposure.

Read the steps Washington employers should take now.

 

 

 

 

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May 13, 2020