NYS Unemployment Fraud – What to do if you’ve been a victim?

During the pandemic, unemployment benefits were increased significantly to help alleviate the financial burden for those who found themselves out of work. An unfortunate outcome is that unemployment fraud has become much more common, and many people have unknowingly had unemployment benefits claimed against their Social Security number in 2021.

The NYS Department of Taxation has been sending out letters over the last few weeks for taxes owed on employment benefits during 2021. If you have received a letter stating that you owe taxes for fraudulent unemployment benefits received in 2021, here’s the website for submitting a fraud claim:

https://webapps.labor.ny.gov/dews/ui/fraud/report-fraud.shtm

This claim will be reviewed by the Department of Labor, and they will follow up with you if they need more information.

Here are other things you should do in addition to filing the claim with the DOL.

• Dispute NYS Taxation and Finance Letter: The letter itself will come with your options for filing a protest. You can either do so online (at https://www.tax.ny.gov/online/), by phone (518-599-6837), or by mailing/faxing in the letter with an explanation. Once the DOL has confirmed that the benefits paid were fraudulent, they’ll communicate with the Department of Taxation and Finance to clear up any balance owed. You should receive a corrected 1099-G showing no unemployment benefits paid for your records
• Contact the three major credit bureaus: If someone was able to claim unemployment benefits on your behalf, they likely have your Social Security number. Knowing that’s the case, you should freeze your credit by contacting Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

If you or somebody you know has had this happen to you or have questions about the process, don’t hesitate to reach out to a Rockbridge advisor.