SEATTLE – The first word Seattle political consultant Dayna Lurie had that someone filed for unemployment benefits in her name was when her boss called. “Did you quit without telling me?" he asked. “We got an unemployment form from the state of Washington saying you don't work here anymore.” It turned out that, like thousands of Washington state residents, Lurie's identity was used by criminals seeking to capitalize on a flood of legitimate unemployment claims by sneaking in fraudulent ones.
Washington's race to help newly laid-off residents as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy left it vulnerable to such scams, and last week officials hinted at the scope of the damage done: hundreds of millions of dollars paid out in fake claims.