How to check if someone filed unemployment under my name - Washington ESD identity theft concerns

This is definitely a red flag for identity theft. First thing you need to do is contact Washington ESD immediately to report this. Call their fraud hotline at 1-800-246-9763. They'll need to flag your SSN in their system to prevent any unauthorized claims. Also file a police report and contact the FTC to report identity theft.

Same thing happened to my neighbor last year. Someone filed a claim using her info and she didn't find out until she got a 1099-G tax form in January. The fraudster had been collecting benefits for months. You're lucky you caught it early.

You should also check your credit reports right away. If someone has your SSN and personal info, they might be trying to open other accounts. Get free reports from annualcreditreport.com and look for anything suspicious.

I had to deal with this situation last year when I kept getting disconnected calling Washington ESD about a fraudulent claim. The wait times were insane and I kept getting hung up on. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual person at Washington ESD. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ. Saved me hours of frustration trying to report the fraud.

This is becoming so common unfortunately. Make sure you save ALL documentation related to this - the letter, any emails, records of phone calls, etc. You'll need it all for the investigation.

OMG this is my worst nightmare! How do these scammers even get our personal information? I'm paranoid now that this could happen to me too.

Make sure you get a fraud alert placed on your credit too, not just a freeze. The fraud alert requires creditors to verify your identity before opening new accounts.

I work in HR and we've seen this a lot lately. When you call Washington ESD, ask them to put a note on your file that you're employed and any future claims should be flagged for review. Also ask for the claim number so you can reference it in future communications.

Check your state tax account too. Sometimes fraudsters file fake tax returns to get refunds. Log into your Washington State Department of Revenue account and make sure nothing looks suspicious there.

Had this happen to me in 2023. The worst part was dealing with the IRS later because the fraudster's benefits showed up on my tax record. Make sure you keep detailed records of everything for tax season.

This exact thing happened to my brother-in-law. He found out when his employer got a notice from Washington ESD about his 'unemployment claim.' Definitely notify your HR department so they're aware.

Whatever you do, don't ignore this thinking it will go away. I know someone who did that and ended up having to pay back benefits they never received because they waited too long to report it.

You might also want to check if there are any other claims filed under your name in other states. Sometimes these scammers file in multiple states using the same stolen identity.

The good news is Washington ESD has gotten much better at handling these fraud cases since the pandemic. They have dedicated fraud investigators now and better systems in place.

Just went through this myself. When I finally got through to Washington ESD (used that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier), they were actually very helpful and had everything sorted out within a few weeks.

Make sure you also file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) if you suspect this was done online. They track these types of crimes and it helps with investigations.

One more thing - if you bank online, change all your passwords and enable two-factor authentication if you haven't already. If they have your personal info, they might try to access your accounts.

Keep us updated on how it goes! This thread has been really helpful for learning about identity theft protection. Hope you get it resolved quickly.