27 Unemployment Fraud Claims In Hinsdale

HINSDALE, IL — In the last week, 27 Hinsdale residents have filed identity theft reports involving unemployment compensation

The residents told police that suspects filed unemployment claims using their information.

Such fraud is taking place in Illinois and across the country.

Kristin Richards, acting director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, said most of the fraud claims are associated with the federally funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, according to a story by Springfield TV station WICS.

The suspects, she told the station, will somehow get a person's Social Security number and file claims under the victim's name.

"We estimate that about 40 percent of those benefits that were applied for in the state of Illinois are fraudulent," Richards told WICS.