A seasonal construction worker father found himself without income for almost four months after being the victim of identity theft and employment insurance fraud.
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Philippe Gingras has been claiming employment insurance benefits for about 10 years. Nothing has changed in his file, he reactivates the same request each year in November, except that last December, his payment was never paid.
Then begins the almost endless whirlwind of the Service Canada maze.
“They told me that I had been defrauded, that someone had changed my information and that they had changed the account number,” the construction worker explains, adding that a check had also been sent to the fraudster since the agent did not check whether his address had also been replaced.
No installments
After these faults, for which he was in no way responsible, it was impossible for him to receive the slightest penny. He was told that “everything had to be settled before payments resumed”. And during this time, it was the family savings that were dwindling.
“I make good salaries during the summer and we always plan for a little loose for late payments, etc., but after four months it starts to get long,” he explains.
After almost four months of discussion with Service Canada officials, its MP, the Conservative Joël Godin, had to get involved in the file and The newspaper contacted Employment and Social Development Canada to finally resolve his problem.
“As if by magic, someone called me to tell me that I would have my money this Thursday,” reports Philippe Gingras.
Major problem
Philippe Gingras is unfortunately far from being the only one to experience this ordeal. According to the Autonomous and Solidarity Movement of the Unemployed (MASSE), nearly 10,000 files were blocked at Services Canada in early March due to the fraud scheme.
And apart from putting pressure, there is unfortunately not much to do, supports the organization.
“The only thing is to follow up. The only lever is to be tiring,” explains President Kim Bouchard. “And it’s also important to contact federal MPs, they need to know what’s going on.”
MP Joël Godin agrees. “We helped several people, I heard people crying on the phone when we told them that it was settled. It is a major problem. »
Fraud major at employment insurance
- According to the Autonomous and Solidarity Movement for the Unemployed (MASSE), nearly 10,000 people are affected
- A leak of personal data at a financial institution would have allowed fraudsters to obtain the data of the people affected
- The criminals would then have entered the systems of Services Canada to modify the personal data of the victims, in particular their account number or their address.
- The Sûreté du Québec confirms that it has opened investigations and is collaborating with Services Canada
Reference-www.journaldequebec.com