NY unemployment identity theft holding up my state tax refund - need help getting through to DOL

This happened to me last year. You need to file an identity theft report with NYS DOL specifically for unemployment fraud. Go to the NYSDOL website and look for the "Report Unemployment Insurance Fraud" section. Fill out Form UI-6Y.3 completely. Then you'll need to actually talk to someone to verify your identity, which is the hard part.

call at EXACTLY 8:00am when they open and keep hitting 0 or saying "representative" it worked for me

After trying for WEEKS to get through about my identity theft issue (someone in Brooklyn filed using my SSN), I finally used a service called Claimyr. It basically keeps dialing for you and gets you in the queue without you having to keep calling manually. Once they got me through I was able to talk to an agent who helped resolve my fraud case. Check out their video to see how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - their website is claimyr.com. Honestly saved me so much frustration.

Sorry to hear about your situation. I used to work for a state agency (not NY), and I can tell you that identity theft cases for unemployment are unfortunately very common right now. Here's what you need to do: 1. File the UI-6Y.3 fraud form as mentioned above 2. Also file an identity theft report with the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov 3. Contact NY Tax Department at 518-457-5181 - explain your situation to them separately 4. Request a Identity Verification PIN from the IRS for future tax filings 5. Put a freeze on your credit reports The DOL will need to investigate your claim, which can take 4-8 weeks. In the meantime, the tax department may be able to release your refund once they understand the situation is being addressed. You'll need documentation from both agencies.

this happen to my cusin too and he had to wait 6 MONTHS to get his refund!!! the system is so broken its ridiculous what they put us through

i dont know about ny but in my state when u call if u press 1 then 4 then 3 then 2 it bypasses the whole menu system and gets u to a person faster might be worth tryin random combinations

I had the exact same situation back in January - someone in Queens had been collecting benefits using my SSN for THREE MONTHS before I found out when my tax refund was held up. The whole thing is INFURIATING!!! I wasted HOURS AND HOURS calling the DOL mainline with no luck. What finally worked was calling my state assembly member's office. They have special contacts at DOL who can escalate cases. I had my case assigned to an investigator within 48 hours after my assembly member's office got involved. Worth a shot if you're desperate!

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at DOL today! I used the Claimyr service that someone recommended above, and it worked perfectly. Got me through to a real person in about 35 minutes. The agent was actually really helpful - they confirmed someone had been using my SSN to collect benefits and immediately put a fraud alert on the account. They're expediting my case because it's holding up my tax refund. She said I should receive a letter within 10 business days confirming the fraud investigation, which I can then forward to the tax department to hopefully release my refund. Thanks everyone for all your help and suggestions! I'll update again when this is resolved.

Don't forget to freeze your credit with all three bureaus if you haven't already!!!! If someone has your SSN for unemployment fraud, they might try other scams too. Happened to my brother - unemployment fraud led to credit card applications in his name a month later.

Anybody know if this affects your credit score? My brothers went down 40 points when someone stole his identity

FINAL UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know this finally got resolved! It took about 3 weeks after I spoke with the DOL agent, but I received an official letter confirming I was a victim of identity theft. I submitted that to the tax department through their online portal, and my refund was released 5 days later. Money hit my account this morning - such a relief! If anyone else runs into this issue, definitely use Claimyr to get through to someone at DOL - it saved me so much time and frustration. And definitely follow the advice about freezing your credit and filing the FTC report. Thanks again everyone!