Identity theft with ny unemployment - what should I do?

I had the EXACT same thing happen in November. Got a 1099-G form showing $6,780 in benefits I never claimed! Had to file an identity theft affidavit with the IRS (Form 14039) and reported it to the three credit bureaus. Also filed a police report - they didn't do much but at least it's documented. Be prepared to wait forever for NY to fix this. My case is still 'under review' after 4 months.

After months of trying to reach someone at unemployment about my identity theft situation, I finally found a way to talk to a real person! Used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that held my place in line and called me back when they reached an agent. Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast and they immediately put a fraud alert on my account. Best decision ever after wasting days on hold. Here's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

This happened to me last year. Things you NEED to do right away: 1) File a police report 2) Contact all three credit bureaus and put a fraud alert on your accounts 3) Keep trying the unemployment office - document every call 4) File an identity theft report with the FTC at identitytheft.gov 5) Call the IRS Identity Protection Unit at 800-908-4490 The most important thing is documentation. NY unemployment office is overwhelmed with these cases rn, so you need to be super persistent. I finally managed to reach someone after weeks of calling who helped me resolve it. Also try claimyr.com which can help you reach a live rep faster. The longer this goes unresolved, the worse it can get, so don't wait for them to handle it!

call them at 8am exactly when they open. thats the only way i got through.

i went thru this last summer! one thing is for SURE - don't just wait around for them to fix it. You need to be proactive. I kept calling every single day, different times. Also, contact your state representative! Mine actually helped push my case thru when I was getting nowhere.

The NY unemployment system is a freaking joke. I bet half the money went to scammers last year while people who actually needed benefits couldn't get them. I'm in the same situation - someone claimed $9,400 in my name. Been fighting it since December. Complete disaster. 🤬

My accountant said dont include the 1099-G on your tax return if you know it's fraud. Just file normally and attach a statement explaining the situation. If you've reported the fraud to unemployment, you can note the case number in your statement.

So I tried calling Claimyr.com after seeing it mentioned here and WOW - I actually spoke to a human at unemployment after months of trying! The person I talked to immediately flagged my account for fraud investigation and said they'd issue a corrected tax form within 30 days. Such a relief.

The same exact thing happend to my sister! She had to file a police report and then bring that report to unemployment. Took her over 2 months to get it sorted out and they still haven't fixed her tax forms. What a nightmare.

You need to froze ur credit ASAP. i had this happen and then they tried to open credit cards with my info too. Its not just about the unemployment money, they have ur personal data and will try to use it for other stuff!

So sorry ur dealing with this! NY unemployment is seriously the most frustrating bureaucracy i've ever dealt with. took me 5 weeks to reach someone when my account was hacked. document EVERYTHING. times u called, emails, etc. check ur credit report for other suspicious activity too.

Not having any luck with phone? Try emailing your state senator/assembly person. My state senator has a form on their website specifically for unemployment issues and they sorted mine out in like 2 weeks when I couldn't get anywhere for months on my own.

another day, another person dealing with NY's broken unemployment system 🤡 i swear they make it impossible on purpose

I had this happen and managed to get it fixed after a TON of effort. One trick I learned - if you call right at 8:01 am and keep pressing 0 repeatedly it sometimes bypasses the automated menu and gets you to a person faster. Also, try calling on Wednesday - for some reason it seemed less busy.

I went through this last year. The most important thing is to file Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) with the IRS so they know not to come after you for taxes on benefits you didn't receive. Also file a report at identitytheft.gov which creates a personalized recovery plan.

Not just you, there's a HUGE wave of unemployment fraud happening in NY right now. My whole office got hit (5 people!). We all got tax forms for benefits none of us ever filed for. NY unemployment is completely overwhelmed with these cases.