by TJV News
Seems like Nigeria has reached a new low when it comes to perpetuating fraud schemes. During these difficult times when the Coronavirus has taken tens of thousands of lives here in the US and over 30 million people find themselves unemployed due to the national lockdown, a fraud ring emanating from the African country has stolen millions in unemployment benefits for Americans who have lost their jobs, according to a NY Post report.
The NY Times reported that the complex and widespread theft scheme used stolen identity data from citizens, including social security numbers, to file false claims on behalf of workers who may not even have lost their jobs.
The paper of record obtained a memorandum from the Secret Service that claims that authorities who are investigating the matter believe that most of the fraudulent claims have been filed in Washington state but evidence that was gathered suggests that similar attacks have occurred in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Wyoming.
At Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., over 400 out of the roughly 2,500-staff have been targeted with fraudulent claims, the university’s spokesman told the Times.
“This is a gut punch,” Suzi LeVine, the commissioner of Washington State’s Employment Security Department, told the newspaper.
Currently, 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits after losing their jobs when the entire nation and most businesses went on lockdown.
“This is a very protracted, painful situation for the labor market,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, “and I just don’t see anything positive.”
CNBC reported that In response to these claims, states have paid a record $48 billion in unemployment benefits to people out of work but several recent studies have found that this total could have been much higher.
According to an analysis by One Fair Wage, a nonprofit organization that advocates for restaurant workers, only 56% of those who have applied for unemployment insurance are receiving benefits, meaning about 44% have been denied or are still waiting.
The Post reported that the ring could end up stealing “hundreds of millions of dollars” from state unemployment departments.
Roy Dotson, a special agent at the Secret Service, told The Times that investigators were still trying to confirm who was behind the attacks and where exactly they are operating. ”We are actively running down every lead we are getting,” Dotson said.
The Times reported that Mr. Dotson said it appeared the fraud was being aided by a substantial number of “mules” — people, often in the United States, who are used as intermediaries for money laundering after making connections with fraudsters online. He warned people to be wary of quick-money job offers or other suspicious financial arrangements.
The Secret Service warned that every state was vulnerable and could be targeted, noting that the attackers appeared to have extensive records of personally identifiable information, or P.I.I, as was reported by the Times. “It is assumed the fraud ring behind this possess a substantial P.I.I. database to submit the volume of applications observed thus far,” the memo said.
Signs of fraud have reportedly flashed across the country.
Rhode Islands’ labor department has noticed suspicious claims, the Times found.
And confused workers and business owners in Washington state have flooded officials there with calls about unemployment notifications that were sent to them even though they hadn’t made claims.
