Baytown – Allison Garcia of Baytown is looking for answers after someone stole her personal information and used it to bilk the state out of nearly $30,000.
“They informed me that since June of 2020 I had been getting $507 per week,” she said.
Except she hadn’t been. Garcia created an account with the Texas Workforce Commission last year while preparing to look for jobs once she graduated from college. But the wife and mother of two said she never signed up to receive unemployment benefits. After trying to sign in for the first time in over a year on Monday, Garcia learned someone had used her personal information to file a false claim.
“They had my driver’s license number, my social security, my birthday,” she said. “They had enough to pose as me for 13 months without any question.”
This single case amounts to $28, 392. Garcia will not be held responsible for the fraud, but it is impacting her family’s ability to buy the home she had her heart set on.
“Because of this, because someone has my information, I have to wait until it’s resolved,” Garcia said. “And then go through the process again.”
Garcia said she is grateful the fraud was finally noticed and said it’s a wake-up call for others who aren’t paying close attention to their private information.
“We can’t rely solely on these people who have massive amounts of claims, unfortunately, through the pandemic, to catch every single one.”