Unemployment Benefits Fraud

If you are not claiming unemployment benefits and have information that a claim was filed using your identity, you should report the ID fraud claim on TWC’s online portal. Go to the Unemployment Benefits Identity Fraud page for more information.

Report ID Fraud

You may be committing fraud if you:

• Start work and do not accurately report your work and work hours when you request benefit payment. There are no exceptions to what TWC considers “work.” View a tutorial on how to calculate and report earnings.
  • Work includes, but is not limited to: full-time work, part-time work, reduced hours, temporary work, contract labor, casual work, side jobs, working for commission-only, and self-employment profits.
• Do not accurately report gross earnings (before taxes or deductions) when you request benefit payment.
• Do not report a job separation (for example, fired, quit, laid off) that occurred while you were receiving unemployment benefits.
• Do not keep your Tele-Serv Personal Identification Number (PIN) or Unemployment Benefits Services (UBS) password secure and someone requests benefits using your personal information.
  • Your Tele-Serv PIN and UBS password have the same legal authority as your signature on a paper document. Do not give your PIN or password to anyone, even to a family member or a TWC employee. You are responsible for any payment request made with your PIN or password.
• Request payment of unemployment benefits while incarcerated.
  • This includes someone requesting benefits on your claim using your Social Security Number and Tele-Serv PIN or UBS password.
• Intentionally give us false information or withhold relevant information.
• Use another person’s identity to apply for benefits.

If you receive unemployment benefits, you are legally responsible for following state and federal law.

If you commit unemployment fraud, you must pay back benefits you were not entitled to receive plus a 15 percent penalty on benefits you fraudulently received. In addition, you could face a variety of penalties, including:

• Criminal prosecution by state or federal authorities
• A possible jail or prison sentence and/or fines
• Loss of remaining benefits on your claim

You are not eligible for benefits you received after the first incident of fraud. For example, if you did not correctly report earnings for 10 weeks, you are not eligible for the benefits you received from the first week you misreported earnings all the way through the end of your claim.

• Criminal Prosecutions of Unemployment Insurance Fraud
• Overpayment of Unemployment Benefits