Fraud is something that impacts unemployment insurance, as it does health, life, car, and other insurance or benefit programs. We have significantly cut criminal fraud down to less than 1% today by using the latest technology and working with fraud-fighting groups and law enforcement to protect benefits and keep your information safe. Help us in this battle by staying informed and reporting anything that feels off at Fight Fraud.
Fraud by the Numbers
Consumer Fraud Increasing Nationally
Across the country, consumer fraud is rising, based on reports from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other national sources.
$356M: The amount in attempted fraud we’ve blocked in a year with our strong identity verification and fraud-fighting tools
Note: Data from most recent one-year reporting period ending September 2025
Criminal Fraud is Rare
Criminal fraud includes schemes involving multiple claims, fake documents, or extensive stolen personal identifying information. We refer any such fraud we find to EDD investigators who team up with law enforcement and prosecutors for arrests, convictions and collections. It's also important to note:
Criminal fraud often differs from an identity-verified customer who provides inaccurate information on their claim to EDD. In those cases, we issue the customer an overpayment and collect money back through our overpayment recovery processes. Visit Ensuring Unemployment Benefit Accuracy to learn more about improper payments.
Today’s criminal fraud is also very different from the criminal fraudevery state experienced during the pandemic due to weaknesses in the temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program launched by the federal government in 2020. That program ended in 2021. But we remain committed to finding pandemic offenders and holding them accountable. So far:
We've recovered more than $5.9 billion in stolen pandemic unemployment funds.
Initiated
2,300+
Investigations
Led to
974+
Arrests
Contributed to
670+
Convictions
We remain committed to protecting the integrity of the unemployment program and to finding and holding as many of those offenders accountable as possible.
Our Strategy in Fighting Criminal Fraud
Partner with Law Enforcement
We’ve created guides to help law enforcement investigate unemployment fraud. We also provide technical support to agencies working on these cases. Each region in California has a contact person at EDD to help with local cases. Out-of-state law enforcement agencies can also request information from us to investigate and prosecute fraud in their own areas.
Our Investigations Department
Our Investigations Department works closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to stop fraud and recover money. Since 2020, nearly1,800 fraud caseshave been opened with our help. Hundreds of suspects have been arrested and charged. Our staff is dedicated to fighting fraud and keeping your information safe.
His team includes specially trained attorneys, many of them former federal prosecutors, with extensive experience handling complex fraud conspiracies. Scott works closely with state agencies, local District Attorneys, EDD, and the Governor’s Office to coordinate enforcement efforts. He also supports the recovery of stolen funds and partners with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Labor to advance cases across California and the nation.
In response to pandemic related unemployment fraud, Governor Gavin Newsom provided $5 million in immediate assistance through grants to local District Attorneys to support investigation and prosecution efforts. In June 2022, the Legislature approved an additional $5 million in EDD’s budget to continue targeting this unprecedented fraud.
Today, the EDD Fraud Special Counsel continues to strengthen program integrity and expand a proven, data driven fraud defense model across state agencies.
"We will continue working with law enforcement to put fraudsters behind bars and recover every stolen dollar that we can.” – Fraud Special Counsel, McGregor Scott
New Technology and Tools
ID.me
We useID.me, an identity verification system, to stop identity fraud at the start of the application process. This tool has prevented more than$125 billionin identity theft-related fraud.
Socure ID Verification
We’re using a layered approach to identify verification directly in the myEDD portal. It relies not just on one piece of data, but on multiple signals in real time. For most users, the process is seamless, fast, and automatic without having to upload documents. Other users are guided through ID.me or are manually reviewed. This elevated combination helps prevent fraud and reduce application delays.
Data Analytics
We work with vendors like ID.me, Accenture, and Thomson Reuters to find fraud using advanced data analysis. So far, our vendors have helped us refer hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud to authorities.
Other Fraud Tools
Money Network:Issues chip-enabled debit cards for added security.
Document Changes:We no longer print Social Security numbers on mail to limit identity theft.
Call Center:We set up a 1099-G call center to help identity theft victims with tax issues.
Public Alerts:We regularly warn customers about the most common scams.
Recovering Stolen Money
Once someone is convicted of fraud, we ask the court to orderrestitution— which means returning stolen money. We also:
Work with experts in asset recovery.
Upgraded our recovery systems.
Use all legal methods available, like forfeiture and administrative actions.
