ID.me identity verification selected to vet suspect unemployment claims

Fraudulent claims on the rise in September

Oct 5, 2020 | Alessandro Mascellino

Categories Biometrics News | Government Services

ID.me identity verification selected to vet suspect unemployment claims

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) announced it has entered an identity verification partnership with ID.me.

The contract has been stipulated to verify claims filed through the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, following a surge in fraudulent claims detected by the department in September.

DLI has not revealed details of the contract or exact figures, but L&I Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said this new layer of identity verification will help ensure PUA payments do not go “into the pockets of fraudsters.

“Our partnership with ID.me will allow us to make payments more quickly to legitimate PUA claimants while helping L&I fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to the public to prevent fraud,” Oleksiak said in an announcement of the fraud problem from the department.

ID.me provides secure identity verification, authentication, and group affiliation verification for both government and businesses across a variety of sectors.

The company recently partnered with Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation to implement online identity verification technology on their website.

While the investigation is active, payments on new PUA claims are currently on hold, and will be released following individual identity checks from ID.me.

The PUA program is the only governmental scheme currently undergoing benefits claims verifications via ID.me, while others, such as Unemployment Compensation are still not subject to verification claims.

Oleksiak also confirmed L&I is also collaborating with other governmental agencies to fight fraudsters and fake claims.

“The bad behavior of these scammers is hurting Pennsylvanians, and we are continuing to work with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, U.S. Attorneys, and other state and federal agencies to identify those responsible.”