Ask Terry Questions Unemployment fraud robs him of deserved benefits when he loses his job

Unemployment fraud robs him of deserved benefits when he loses his job

By Terry Savage on January 18, 2021 | Wild Card

Hi Terry,
Back in October I was notified by my company that someone had made a fraudulent claim to IDES in my name. The claim was denied and I notified IDES of the incident. Well come early December, I lost my job. I cannot file for my unemployment benefits because there is already a claim out in my name and no one from IDES has has closed the old one. I have an account set up in my name that the fraudsters created and I have no access to. I have been waiting to speak to someone for over a month now. I have received callbacks, but when I answer the call, all I hear is a busy signal. I’m at the end of my rope here and my family will start to have a hard time paying bills in this cycle. Any advice or anyone I can talk to? I need at get this resolved ASAP.
Thank you for your time,

Terry Says

Oh, this is the worst of all possible situations. IDES is IMPOSSIBLE! They have stopped responding to my contacts, but I will copy your message and pass it on to them.

My only two suggestions are to contact your state representative — And also contact Kwame Raoul’s office of the state’s attorney. They are working on a fraud taskforce and might be able to help.
My other suggestion is to buy a couple of “burner” phones and file those numbers also for an IDES callback! That will give you a better chance of getting a call. Carry them with you everywhere.

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