(WWJ) -- According to officials, the holidays are a time when criminals see a golden opportunity to cash in on fraudulent unemployment claims.
"They anticipate an uptick in jobless claims, and they just try to get into the mix with the expectation that with the larger number of claims might be an opportunity for them to slip through the net," said Nick Assendelft for the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (MUIA).
Assendelft said during this past Christmas and New Year's season, MUIA saw a spike of 10,000 unemployment claims that had been flagged as likely being fraudulent.
MUIA uses a number of different tools to assist them in flagging down claims that look to be fraudulent, one tool being Fraud Manager application.
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Once the suspicious claims are pinpointed, it flags staff to take a closer look and to reach out to either the employer listed on the claim or the person who filed to get some verifying information.
On Dec. 29, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the formation of the Unemployment Fraud Response Team which will work with state officials and law enforcement to identify, investigate and prosecute those accused of filing fraudulent unemployment claims.
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