N.J. targets unemployment fraud

Online applicants must answer questions about themselves. Answers would be hard to falsify.

By Bruce Shipkowski, Associated Press
Posted: October 11, 2012

TRENTON - State labor officials have taken another step to combat the theft of unemployment benefits. They're going to make online applicants take a quiz about themselves to prove their identity.

Labor Commissioner Harold Wirths said Tuesday an "identity proofing" system recently went online that requires applicants to answer multiple-choice questions about themselves correctly before payments are approved. The system is meant to foil identity thieves.

The measure is the latest by the state to stop claims from people who aren't entitled to unemployment benefits. Officials say antifraud efforts have saved New Jersey $153 million over 18 months.

The system uses the applicant's name and details he or she provides to conduct an instant search that matches the information against data from public records related to the applicant. It then devises specific questions using the background data, such as what type of car the person first owned or previous residences.

"Identity thieves who steal a person's name and Social Security number to file a fraudulent claim are unlikely to know some innocuous but key facts, such as whether a person graduated a certain college or once owned a motorcycle," Deputy Labor Commissioner Aaron Fichtner said. "They also are unlikely to simply guess the correct answers to three or more questions."

Labor Department staffers are not informed of the questions posed to applicants or how they responded, and the system doesn't retain, store, or share data it calls up to verify an identity. Instead, it places a pass or fail designation on the account.

Claimants who don't pass the verification process or decline to participate in it must confirm their identities in person, Wirths said.

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