Many Americans Fall Victim to Unemployment Aid Fraud

A person arrives in his car to receive an unemployment application being given out by city of Hialeah employees in front of the John F. Kennedy Library in Hialeah, Florida, on April 8, 2020. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—Generous unemployment benefits put in place by the CARES Act and subsequent relief packages to respond to pandemic-related joblessness have become an easy target for identity thieves and other criminals. Most states have been hit by fraud committed on a vast scale, mainly by international organized crime rings.

In March, the Labor Department inspector general’s office estimated that more than $63 billion in unemployment benefits had been paid out improperly through fraud or errors since the beginning of the pandemic.