NYS Department of Labor asking about covid unemployment fraud - what should I expect?
I just got a letter from NYS Department of Labor saying they're reviewing my unemployment claim from 2021 for potential fraud issues. I'm really confused because I reported everything correctly and only claimed benefits when I was actually unemployed. The letter mentions something about identity verification and cross-matching with other databases. Has anyone else gotten one of these letters? I'm worried they think I did something wrong but I have no idea what this is about. Should I be concerned about having to pay money back?
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Hunter Hampton
This is actually pretty common right now. NYS Department of Labor is doing systematic reviews of claims from the pandemic period because there was so much fraudulent activity during that time. If you filed legitimately, you should be fine, but you'll need to respond to their requests for documentation. Make sure you have your employment records, tax returns, and any correspondence from that period ready.
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Libby Hassan
•Thank you, that makes me feel better. Do you know how long these reviews typically take? The letter says I have 10 days to respond.
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Sofia Peña
Yeah I got hit with this too last month. They wanted me to verify my identity with documents and prove I was actually unemployed when I claimed. Took about 3 weeks but they cleared me. The fraud thing is mostly about people who used stolen identities or claimed benefits while working full time.
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Aaron Boston
•What kind of documents did they ask for? I'm waiting for my review letter and want to be prepared.
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Sofia Peña
•Driver's license, social security card, W-2s from the year before I filed, and my separation notice from my employer. Pretty standard stuff.
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Sophia Carter
OMG this is so stressful! I can't get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about my review. The phone lines are always busy and the online messaging system never gets responses. How is anyone supposed to handle this properly?
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Chloe Zhang
•I had the same problem trying to reach them about my fraud review. Someone told me about this service called Claimyr that helps you get through to NYS Department of Labor agents. Check out claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I used it last week and actually got to talk to someone who explained exactly what documents I needed.
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Brandon Parker
The whole system is a mess. They make it sound like everyone who filed during covid was committing fraud but most of us were just trying to survive. Now they're going after legitimate claimants while the real fraudsters probably got away with millions.
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Adriana Cohn
•I agree the process is frustrating but they do have to verify claims. The amount of actual fraud during the pandemic was pretty staggering.
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TechNinja
I went through this exact same review process about 6 months ago and it was nerve-wracking but ultimately fine. The key thing is to respond quickly and provide everything they ask for. Don't wait until the last minute on that 10-day deadline. I organized all my documents in a folder - pay stubs, tax forms, bank statements showing my employment ended when I claimed it did. The review took about a month total but they sent me a letter saying everything was cleared. The fraud investigation is really targeting people who filed under fake identities or were working while claiming benefits, not legitimate claimants like you who just need to verify their paperwork.
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Alina Rosenthal
•This is really helpful, thank you! I'm curious - when you say they wanted bank statements showing when your employment ended, what specifically were they looking for? Did they need to see direct deposit stopping or something else? I want to make sure I'm gathering the right financial documentation.
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