NY unemployment making me verify identity 5 days before benefits expire - what's the point??

Welcome to the wonderful world of NY unemployment where nothing makes any logical sense. They did the same thing to me last year - made me verify my identity with only 8 days left on my claim. Complete waste of everyones time. The system is broken beyond belief.

After trying to call ny unemployment for weeks with no luck, I discovered this service called Claimyr that got me on the phone with an actual person in less than an hour. Best decision I made throughout this whole unemployment nightmare - talking to an agent got my ID verification issue resolved in one call. Check out their site: claimyr.com - they also have a video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

It's all about fraud prevention supposedly. But the timing makes zero sense. They're probably clearing their backlog of verification flags before the end of the fiscal period or something bureaucratic like that. Just do the ID.me thing, it's annoying but not too complicated.

The ID.me process is such a pain. I had to wait in a video call queue for almost 3 hours last time I did it. Make sure you have good lighting and ALL your documents ready before you start.

I've worked in government (not unemployment but similar agency) and I can tell you exactly why this happens. Each dept has quotas to hit for ID verification that reset quarterly. They're probably scrambling to hit their numbers before the quarter ends, and they don't care if your benefits are ending or not. It's all about the metrics for them. 🤦‍♂️

Honestly, take this as a sign to jump through ONE LAST HOOP and then you're free from the nightmare that is ny unemployment. I celebrated when my benefits ended just because I didn't have to deal with their garbage website and constant verification nonsense anymore.

Let me tell you the ACTUAL rationale - it's all about money. Even if they flag just 5% of people for verification, and half of those people don't complete it in time (because the process is confusing AF), that's millions of dollars they don't have to pay out. It's by design, not incompetence.

Hey there! Self-employed contractor here who went through this exact same thing. Here's what you need to know: First, I know it feels pointless, but you ABSOLUTELY need to complete the ID verification even with just days left. If you don't, they can retroactively flag your account and demand repayment of ALL benefits you've received. I've seen it happen to others. Second, ID.me is frustrating but manageable. Have your ID, social security card, and a utility bill ready. The process should take about 30 minutes unless you get stuck in their video verification queue. Third, if you run into ANY issues, don't waste time with emails or the message center. You need to talk to a live agent ASAP. After wasting days trying to call, I used claimyr.com and got through to an agent within 40 minutes. They were able to put notes on my account showing I was actively trying to verify, which protected my final payments. Finally, take screenshots of EVERYTHING during the process - confirmation emails, completion pages, everything. NY unemployment's systems don't always talk to each other correctly. Good luck with the verification and your job search!

I just got the same email yesterday!!!! My benefits end next friday. This is such BS. Did you end up doing the verification?

its because their compuder system randomly flags accounts for verification. has nothing to do with when ur benefits end. its all automated garbage

Wait until you have to deal with dealing with unemployment during tax season, that's a whole other level of frustration 🤣 I'm still fighting with them over my 1099-G from LAST year

If you need help with the verification process, call early in the morning (like 7:55am) and keep redialing until you get through. Or if you don't want to spend hours on the phone, use claimyr.com - they'll get you connected to an agent. I was skeptical but it worked for me last month when I had a similar issue. Good luck!

does anyone else think it's weird that these verification requests always seem to come right before benefits are about to end? seems intentional to me...

The rationale is simple: they're hoping you wont bother with the verification since your benefits are ending anyway, so they save money. Classic NY unemployment move.