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Erie County DA alerts public about fraudulent unemployment claims

Submitted

Thu, Mar 11th 2021 10:10 am

Flynn warns residents to watch for unauthorized activity after an unknown person attempted to use his information to file a false claim for unemployment benefits

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn announced he was recently the victim of a scammer who attempted to fraudulently file an unemployment claim using his personal information. Flynn became aware of the incident after receiving a notice in the mail regarding a claim for one week of unemployment in early February. The DA, who has been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, took immediate action by contacting his employer, Erie County, and the New York State Department of Labor.

“I want the public to know that anyone, even the county’s chief law enforcement official, can become a target of this scam,” Flynn said. “Since these claims are filed online, it is very difficult to identify and prosecute these criminals. I encourage anyone who has had false information filed in their name to contact the New York State Department of Labor immediately. I also want to commend their office for identifying these fraudulent claims.”

The NYS DOL issued an advisory last month, announcing its office has identified more than 425,000 fraudulent claims since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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