Mr. Y, who revealed some of his observations to us on condition of anonymity, worked during the first half of 2021 within the federal agency. It threw me to the ground to see how easy it was to cheat on employment insurance, he says. That’s why I wrote to you.
On Wednesday, Radio-Canada reported Service Canada’s refusal to shed more light on the large-scale fraud that took place there. Cases of victims defrauded without knowing it and still having difficulty settling their case, or even receiving their benefits, were reported there.
” I don’t know if the rules have since changed, but all it took was a name, date of birth and social insurance number. »
With this information, a first application for benefits could simply be made online without suspicion on the Employment and Social Development Canada website.
In the same way, it was also possible, according to him, to apply for renewal when a file was active. The new information then overwrote that recorded in My Service Canada Account, to which access is nevertheless secure.
I have seen cases of people being targeted by a fraudulent renewal application where the address, bank account, mother’s maiden name, phone number and language were changed without the system detecting it, he remembers. When we realized this, we blocked the file.
” This situation revolted me and it contributed to my departure. »
Data leaks in the private sector and financial institutions
in Quebec have led, according to Service Canada itself, a significantly higher number of frauds related to identity theft
.
At the time, recalls Mr. Y, agents were prohibited from using the word fraud
. We had to talk about irregularities
he says.
The majority of the cases he had to deal with did not match the tags of thecommon reference tool
. Agent support was called, he says, but there were no guidelines. It was from freestyle to know what to do.
Measures to protect the integrity of benefit programs
says the agency, have since been made to its system.
Defrauded, without ever having been unemployed
Among the questions to which we did not get clear answers from Service Canada was the following: have false claims for benefits on behalf of people who have never applied for EI before occurred?
The publication of our story has resulted in an avalanche of emails from victims who have still not managed to regularize their file.
Émile Pottier, an engineer by profession who has never had recourse to unemployment in his life, responds yes
. I realized by chance in January on the portal of the Canada Revenue Agency that there was a T4E, he writes. Service Canada told me that they had already noticed fraudulent activity, blocked further payments and [étaient] rectifying the situation.
The request of the criminals had been made in August 2021, without ever being informed. Mr. Pottier is still waiting for a modified T4E, eight months after the theft of his identity. When filing his income tax return, he therefore had to enter amounts that he never saw.
” It is surprising and frustrating that, months after the fact, taxpayers have to advance the money for the fraud and suffer the administrative hassles. »
Service Canada indicates that citizens who suspect improper activity on their social insurance number not stemming from their own actions should report it to Service Canada as soon as possible
.
From changes
have been made
Meanwhile, many EI claimants are still waiting for the checks they requested. To date, the accounts of over 14,500 customers have been restored.
During question period Thursday in the House of Commons, in response to the Bloc Québécois, the federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, underlined that aware that there is an increase in cases of fraud
.
Changes have been made to Service Canada to ensure that people with legitimate claims receive their benefits
she added.
To date, Service Canada has not been able to tell us how many files have been compromised and are still under review.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca