CHARLESTON, W.Va. — WorkForce West Virginia officials are urging any of the nearly 200,000 state residents who have received 1099-Gs for unemployment benefits this tax season to be on guard against fraud and identity theft.
The agency recently mailed the tax forms to individuals who received regular state unemployment benefits, pandemic unemployment assistance, pandemic emergency unemployment compensation, federal pandemic unemployment compensation, extended benefits, and lost wage assistance.
WorkForce West Virginia Acting Commissioner Scott Adkins appeared on Monday’s MetroNews ‘Talkline’ and said some residents had their identities stolen so others could receive unemployment benefits however the 1099 forms still go out.
Any individual who receives a 1099-G from WorkForce West Virginia but did not file an unemployment claim, should report suspected fraud by filing a police report and sending an email to reportunemploymentfraud@wv.gov.
“Once that 1099 is investigated and we were able to determine that was truly sent to you in error, we will send you a letter to document that. None of those 1099s are being transmitted to the IRS,” Adkins said.
Adkins anticipates less fraud in West Virginia compared to other states.
“West Virginia did a good job to mitigate some of that on the front. I am hoping and really, suspect that number is going to be small as it relates to the 200,000 1099s that have gone out,” he said.
Scott Adkins, Acting Commissioner of @workforcewv, speaks with @HoppyKercheval about the tax information people are getting even if they did not receive unemployment benefits. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/O6N07l48GZ
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) February 1, 2021
WorkForce West Virginia has hired additional staff for fraud prevention and detection, including income and identity verification. A new federal requirement for pandemic unemployment assistance is to verify the self-employment and identity of claimants. Even if a claim was previously approved, each claimant will be asked to provide additional information, according to a release.
Individuals impacted may also call 1-800-252-JOBS between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Callers should select option 5 when prompted.
Those looking for additional resources for reporting identity theft and fraud should consult the Internal Revenue Service’s Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft or the Federal Trade Commission’s website on identity theft or fill out a U.S. Department of Justice National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) complaint form.