ATLANTA, July 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc.
(NYSE: EFX) today announced a new solution set designed to help
state unemployment agencies identify and prevent potential
instances of unemployment insurance (UI) fraud. To address
the concerns about rising reports of potential fraud and
misdirected payments which create delays in payments for workers in
need, the UI Eligibility suite of services provides data-based
solutions and authentication tools that can be implemented quickly
and without requiring significant upgrades to existing state agency
technology.
"The dramatic increase in need and the new opportunity for
self-employed individuals to file for unemployment insurance under
the CARES Act has contributed to a significant increase in
unemployment-benefit fraud," said Juan
Cole, vice president, Equifax Government Solutions. "After
consulting with multiple state government officials, we have been
able to align solutions and data sets to help states identify
potentially fraudulent applications in order to allow them to
process the extraordinary surge in claims efficiently and
accurately, getting benefits quickly into the hands of those making
valid claims."
Equifax products and data sets offered through UI Eligibility
are designed to help mitigate synthetic fraud risk, streamline the
identity process and provide more visibility into UI claim
eligibility. With fraud and verification solutions in place,
benefit decisions for those who qualify can be made more quickly
and efficiently. Claims that qualify for initial or continued
benefits can pass through the process more quickly, as those with
potential fraud or overpayment markers are flagged for closer
validation. Such use of diverse data sets can help state
unemployment agencies to focus on what matters most, processing
claims for those in need.
The UI Eligibility suite of services is designed to:
Identify potentially fraudulent claims at the point of
application for unemployment benefits. Equifax offers a
comprehensive suite of identity, authentication and fraud
prevention services that are trusted by the nation's largest
financial institutions, telecom companies and government agencies.
Real-time fraud decisioning and detection tools can execute
multiple verifications of a claimant's identity in milliseconds and
validate that claimant information is legitimate using insights
from multi-dimensional data sources.
Help validate self-employed claims under the new Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Employment data is also
available to help validate claims under the new PUA program created
by the CARES Act for self-employed individuals or those who are
otherwise ineligible for state unemployment benefits. Such claims
are difficult to validate without tax return data, which can be
more than 12-18 months old due to the 2019 IRS filing date that has
now moved to July 15, 2020.
Evaluate continuing payments for out-of-work individuals and
re-assess for potential fraud. As re-verifications for
continued payments begin in earnest, additional data sources are
available to state agencies to evaluate continued eligibility for
unemployment insurance payments, re-evaluate claims for potential
fraud, and minimize overpayment risks.
The Equifax UI Eligibility solution suite is available now. For
more information on additional Equifax Government Services, please
visit here.
Equifax is a global data, analytics, and technology company and
believes knowledge drives progress. The Company blends unique data,
analytics, and technology with a passion for serving customers
globally, to create insights that power decisions to move people
forward. Headquartered in Atlanta,
Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia
Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's
(S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs
approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. For more information,
visit Equifax.com and follow the company's news on
Twitter and LinkedIn.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
MediaInquiries@equifax.com
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/equifax-introduces-solution-set-to-address-unemployment-insurance-and-social-safety-net--fraud-301087559.html
SOURCE Equifax Inc.