You really don’t want another me, do you?

I’m pretty sure if the question was put to a popular vote, it would be Johnson/Goldwater all over again, for those of you old enough to remember. For those who don’t, look it up. Or, just ask Siri.

One morning last week, my wife received an email notice from her employer that people were having their identities stolen and false unemployment claims were being made in their name,  The solution? Got to the state’s Employment Security Division (https://esd.wa.gov/—you’ll need this later) website and create an account.

What does that do?  Well, for those of us who aren’t filing for unemployment, it connects our name to our social security number, so cyber thieves in Nigeria can’t go in with our SS number, create an account and start stealing money from our state. And really, I’m going to have to write to that Prince in Nigeria and see if there’s something he can do about those guys. I’ve given him a lot of money.

So, I went to the site and found the form. This is what you click on to get there, down towards the bottom of the page.

I put in all the correct information on the form and clicked “Save.”  That’s when this mysterious red box showed up that notified “That social security number is already associated with another account.” What?

They gave me a phone number to call, which I did. But after waiting for a while, it gave me the option of keeping my place in line and they would call me. I chose that option. Four hours later, a rep from the state called me, kicked out the fraudulent me and gave me sole access to my social security number.

The reason I’d highly suggest you verify your number hasn’t been stolen–so far, our state has had HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS stolen using this method. Fortunately, in my case, the thief hadn’t begun siphoning off state dollars using my identify. If you want all the gory details, read this article in the Seattle Times.

So, wash your hands, wear a mask and check to make sure your identity hasn’t been stolen. All part of our wonderful new norm.

Oh, and that link again is https://esd.wa.gov/

There really should only be one of you.

Tim Hunter