COLUMBUS, Ohio – A company that identifies itself as an Ohio contractor recently sent out letters to Ohioans who were victims of unemployment identity theft, offering a year of free identity theft protection services, paid for by the state.
Ohio Job and Family Services spokeswoman Dasia Clemente said Thursday evening the letters are legitimate.
Since December, OJFS has sent this letter via mail and email to more than 565,000 individuals, Clemente said.
Beginning in April 2020, at the start of the pandemic, fraudsters have tried to claim unemployment benefits on behalf of Ohioans. Numerous Ohioans were notified as recently as this spring that scammers were trying to access their accounts.
On Jan. 25, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced that it was using an existing contract with IDX, which it described as a “nationally recognized provider of credit monitoring services,” to offer services to 410,000 Ohioans who reported being a victim of identity theft at the time.
The state at the time estimated the cost would be $588,000 to $748,000, depending on how many people enroll. The cost includes the company launching and maintaining the service, notifying individuals of their eligibility, maintaining an enrollment website and providing contact center support.
By March 31, fraudsters stole $527 million from the traditional and pandemic unemployment systems. That number is expected to increase as more fraud is identified. The state has paid out over $24 billion in unemployment to over 2.4 million Ohioans.
Unemployment benefits fraud has been so widespread that Gov. Mike DeWine, First Lady Fran DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted each had claims falsely filed in their names.
