JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Many employed Floridians have reported receiving unemployment checks in the mail and fear fraud may be the cause.
Pete Eskew with ID.me, the company that provides claimant identity verification for the Department of Economic Opportunity, said those receiving these checks should be on guard.
“A lot of legitimate men and women are getting checks they did not apply for because their identity has been stolen,” Eskew said.
Eskew said you should alert law enforcement and DEO right away.
“This is the largest cyber-attack in our nation’s history when it comes to fraud,” Eskew said.
First Coast News asked DEO multiple times if this sudden influx of checks sent to Florida’s employed in recent weeks could be due to a glitch or a large amount of fraudulent claims.
The Department did not provide an answer to this question, but encourages those who suspect identity theft to report it here.
Larry DeVille started his fight with identity theft in March, but only found out about it because he needed unemployment benefits himself after losing his job due to the pandemic.
“It appears there may have been some fraud,” Eskew said. “It’s money out of my pocket.”
DeVille said after fighting for months, he was finally able to access his unemployment claim, but it was missing weeks the thief stole from him.
“I’m out five to seven weeks of unemployment that went to someone else,” DeVille said.
DeVille said DEO has yet to update him on the fraudulent claim.
Others contacting First Coast News also said they cannot contact DEO and need help.
“You report it and it goes into a big, deep, black hole,” DeVille said.
If you are employed and received an unemployment check, notify the Department by clicking here, and fill out this form for On Your Sides' Josslyn Howard to submit to DEO.