NR No. 22-04
Contact: Loree Levy/Aubrey Henry
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO-EDD continues to confirm that most of the suspect disability insurance medical provider accounts it flagged as suspicious were fraud attempts. The few providers that were not fraud—but instead victims of identity theft—are completing verification along with their patients to then resume certifying claims.
Most disability insurance claimants in California were not impacted by this scam and EDD has continued to pay approximately $150 million a week in benefits to legitimate claimants. Similarly, most California medical providers who certify disability insurance claims were not victimized by scammers and subject to the additional verification procedures at this time.
To date, EDD has confirmed that approximately 98 percent of the 27,000 medical provider accounts it initially flagged as suspicious were likely fraudulent. Specifically, 485 providers have verified their identity at this point and the rest did not.
As EDD separates out the suspected fraudulent accounts we are then verifying the claimants who were suspended when their medical provider’s information was compromised. These claimants received notices this week to verify their identity with ID.me as quickly as possible to help us in resuming payments. In addition, other claimants have received different notices with other verification requirements specific to their claim. To avoid tipping off fraudsters, further details about the various verification procedures will not be released.
Scam Warnings and Enhanced Online Fraud Reporting
With identity theft remaining a pervasive threat nationwide and globally, EDD has continued to issue consumer scam alerts throughout the pandemic that warn about cell phone and email phishing schemes designed to steal personal information. Californians who receive suspicious cell phone or email phishing communications can report those scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Phishing emails can be forwarded to the FTC’s Anti-Phishing working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org and phishing text messages can be forwarded to the FTC at 7726.
EDD posts information about how Californians can guard against identity theft and report fraudulent activity on its Help Fight Fraud webpage. EDD also upgraded its AskEDD website tool to smooth the fraud reporting process and make it more user friendly. This includes custom fraud reporting for medical providers who suspect someone may be using their credential to attempt to certify fake disability insurance claims. After a fraud report is submitted, the victim or fraud reporter receives a report confirmation number.