In an effort to give eligible Arizonans their unemployment benefits in a timely manner, while also protecting taxpayer money from fraud, the Arizona Department of Economic Securityhas partnered with federally-certified identity verification provider ID.me.
DES previously had placed about 30,000 accounts suspected of fraud on hold. Then it piloted the ID.me program, which can help address high-volume unemployment fraud, and found that 18% had responded to verify their identities.
As applications keep flowing in, so does the potential for fraud.
In the last three weeks, DES suspected the vast majority of more than 1 million Pandemic Unemployment Assistance applications received were fraudulent.
DES says: "To report fraud, file a report online or call the DES Fraud Hotline at 800-251-2436. The webform is available in English and Spanish. After reporting fraud to DES, file a report with local law enforcement."
More information about unemployment fraud is available at des.az.gov.
