Protect yourself. Make an unemployment account even if you are working | Editorial

If you haven’t tried to create an account with the Washington State Employment Security Department, you should do so as soon as possible — even if you don’t need unemployment benefits.

That’s because simply creating an account will help protect your Social Security number from being used in a despicable fraud scheme that has stolen millions of dollars from struggling Washington state residents.

Taking this step won’t start an unemployment claim, but it will associate your Social Security number with your email address.

And that will help lock your number into the system so no one else can use it. Go to secure.esd.wa.gov/home to get the process started.

The shameful reality is that the coronavirus outbreak has provided an opportunity for immoral characters to take advantage of the crisis for their personal gain, and siphoning money from the state unemployment agency is the latest nefarious plan that’s come to light.

Early on, when the coronavirus first began to spread in the U.S., people were warned not to fall for scammers trying to sell high-demand items like masks and hand sanitizer on phony websites.

False emails pretending to be from legitimate government agencies or charities also were a problem. The senders would try to trick vulnerable people into releasing personal information by claiming to offer test kits and medicine for COVID-19.

Google reported in mid-April that its Gmail service was blocking 18 million such messages a day.

Now we realize the state’s Employment Security Department has been a target.

ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine said there have been no data breaches at the agency, and no personal information has been stolen from the site — which is good news.

But the bad news is that crooks have managed to find people’s personal information in other ways, and they are using it to set up false unemployment claims.

ESD officials announced this week they believe more than $1 million in fraudulent claims were paid out between March and April, diverting hundreds of millions of dollars away from needy state residents and into the bank accounts of criminals.

That was money meant for people out of work after businesses across the state shut down to comply with Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order. The lockdown has been necessary to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which already has killed over 1,000 state residents.

In an effort to get unemployment money to people as quickly as possible, the ESD initially waived the standard one-week waiting period, which would have allowed for a more thorough check on the claims.

Now it turns out that well-intentioned gesture has been exploited.

Tri-City police officials say they have been getting several reports a day from people who are victims of the fraud. The problem has been so widespread locally that area school districts have sent emails out to their employees encouraging them to register with the state ESD.

Even though school employees are getting paid, putting their information in the state system will help protect their information. It also will alert them in case their Social Security numbers are already being used by someone else.

Many Washington state residents who have tried to make an account have received an error message telling them that their Social Security number is already in the system and linked to a different email.

When that happens, it means someone else is likely using the information and it should be reported it to the Federal Trade Commission identity theft website at identitytheft. gov. Pasco school officials have discovered 160 employees so far who have had their information stolen in the scheme, and the Kennewick School District has about 125.

There are many other steps to take if you find you are a victim of identity theft, and those can be found on the ESD website.

The state is currently working with federal law enforcement, financial institutions and the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate the fraud and to try and recover the money paid out during the coronavirus crisis.

Levine said it makes her angry that the agency has had to reinstate the waiting period for new claims so that her staff has more time to verify information.

It’s a shame that deserving people who need their money now will have to wait longer for it because criminals are taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis.

So to make it more difficult for them, register your social security number with the ESD even if you don’t want to file a claim.

If your identity already has been taken, you’ll find out.

If not, you will be helping to thwart someone from robbing Washington state residents who need help.

This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 12:28 PM.