Kentucky unemployment system shutting down for several days to offset 'massive' fraud
Kentucky is taking several drastic measures to deal with the onslaught of fraud hitting the unemployment insurance system, including shutting down the system to users for several days.
Amy Cubbage, the governor’s general counsel who has been overseeing the state's Office of Unemployment Insurance, detailed the new steps Kentucky is taking to fight back against "sophisticated attacks" from fraudulent entities.
It's not just an issue Kentucky is dealing with, but across the country. Cubbage and other state officials said UI systems have become targets for fraud because of the recent efforts to help people out of work with federal boosts in unemployment assistance.
"And it's fraud that's not the kind that UI systems have traditionally been able to detect and deal with," Cubbage said.
Before the pandemic, fraud cases were isolated and reported in one-off instances. Cubbage said now states are dealing with "organized fraud" from cyber criminals who are often located overseas.
Cubbage said the fraudulent activity includes people trying to file fraudulent claims and others trying to break into existing accounts to steal benefits.
So what's Kentucky doing to deal with the fraud? Here's a breakdown:
The state will first start off by shutting down the front-facing UI system, where people log on to access and file benefits. Officials said the goal here is to make sure fraudsters cannot gain access to customer accounts.
The shutdown will begin at midnight and last until Tuesday morning.
After the shutdown, all claimants will need to re-register accounts on the portal. That includes all recent new sign-ups. Officials said everyone will have to re-register like it's their first time using the UI system.
Officials said one of the reasons for the shutdown is because fraudsters are gaining access to accounts by guessing the PIN numbers through computer software. Cubbage said many users are using simple PIN numbers, including more than 4,000 users with the numbers "1234." Another 1,500 users had the pin number "2020."
Cubbage and state officials are stressing users use more complicated numbers or passwords to eliminate the threat of fraud moving forward.
The shutdown means people will not be able to file new claims or request benefits. New claims will be back-dated when the system is back up. Officials said people will not lose out on their chance to request benefits, but there will be delays due to the shut down.
Here's a look at other measures going into place after the shut down:
- Users will need to create a new 12-character password using a mix of letters, numbers and special characters
- The state will begin using two-factor authentication in which users will have to verify email addresses to receive a code through their email accounts
- Users will get new 8-digit PINS in the mail
- The telephone claiming system will use the new 8-digit pin
- Users will need to review all the information on their account
More information about the changes can be found in the video player above.
Gov. Andy Beshear said shutting down the system is a "step we absolutely have to take."