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LISBON -- Two county residents on Monday reported to the county sheriff's office they were victims of the latest scam, created in part by the COVID-19 pandemic where someone files an unemployment claim in another person's name.
The victim finds out when a 1099-G tax form shows up in the mail showing how much unemployment was received so they can pay taxes on what they have received.
One sheriff's report came from a Emerick Road, Franklin Township, woman who said her husband received a 1099-G tax form in the mail claiming he received $1,440 in unemployment in 2020. According to the wife, not only did her husband not claim unemployment last year, he has never collected unemployment. He is also 81 years old.
She also reported neither of them received any of the stimulus money in 2020.
A second sheriff's report came from a resident on Laughlin Road, Wayne Township, who reported he received a 1099 for unemployment claims and again he has never been on unemployment or applied for unemployment.
Rachel Ketterman, director of Jobs and Family Services in Columbiana County, said Tuesday she believes this to be a widespread problem at this point. Although her office does not directly handle unemployment claims, she has received similar phone calls recently on a daily basis in her office. Residents she speaks with are very concerned, she said, especially when they figure out that to successfully apply for unemployment on their behalf, the scammer has their name, date of birth, Social Security number and address.
She suggests filing a fraud report through the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. That organization sent out a press release on Tuesday urging people needing to file a fraud claim to go to unemploymenthelp.ohio.gov or call 833-658-0394 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The problem has become so widespread that the top of the page has a large red button for people with a fraud claim to click on.
Although she has not received her 1099-G yet, Kettering said she has learned that her identity is among those stolen by someone who filed a claim. Additionally, in January, Gov. Mike DeWine, his wife Fran DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted also reported that unemployment claims were filed with their identities.
According to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, about 900,000 Ohioans received a total of $7.9 billion in unemployment from the state in 2020, a number much larger than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That does not include additional unemployment received through federal programs.
djohnson@mojonews.com