Colorado’s unemployment system — and unemployment systems across the country — have been targeted by complex and sophisticated criminal rings in an attempt to take advantage of the pandemic by fraudulently collecting benefits. In 2019, Colorado saw 88 fraudulent claims, while 2020 saw around 900,000, and we continue to see increased fraudulent traffic attempting to access the Colorado unemployment insurance system. The sheer volume of claims presents itself not just to CDLE, but also to employers who continue to receive vast amounts of unemployment insurance related fact finding and other correspondence for claims filed against the employer, either using identities of people who never worked there or using identities of employees without their knowledge. We understand how unsettling this experience can be. We take any fraud seriously and work daily with law enforcement and other agencies to prevent, investigate, and prosecute this behavior.