BUFFALO, N.Y. — Even the District Attorney himself is not immune to being the target of fraud.
Erie County DA John Flynn says a 'scammer' recently attempted to file an unemployment claim using his personal information. Flynn said he became aware of the incident when he got a notice in the mail about a claim for a week of unemployment in early February.
Flynn, who has been working throughout the pandemic, said he immediately notified the county and the State Labor Department.
“I want the public to know that anyone, even the county’s chief law enforcement official, can become a target of this scam. Since these claims are filed online, it is very difficult to identify and prosecute these criminals. I encourage anyone who has had false information filed in their name to contact the New York State Department of Labor immediately. I also want to commend their office for identifying these fraudulent claims,” said Flynn.
Last month the Labor Department said their office had identified more than 425,000 fraudulent claims since the start of the pandemic.
Lancaster Police say they received 19 reports of identity theft, most of those cases were involving fraudulent unemployment claims. Their department is investigating those claims.
