ORLANDO, Fla. – William Couper just laughed when asked if he was frustrated with the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity Connect system.
The furloughed food event specialist has been out of work and collecting unemployment benefits since March 2020 without a hitch.
This past March, he said everything changed when he was locked out of his account after he cleared the state’s ID.me security checkpoint. “The thing that gets me is what’s the reason for the lock?
I.D. theft or what?” a frustrated Couper asked News 6. The U.S. Secret Service along with the DEO Fraud division has been investigating cases of stolen identities used to apply for state unemployment benefits and Small Business Administration loans.