TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Labor announced Monday that the agency’s new identity verification software system has blocked over one million fraudulent login attempts and bot attacks since it went live on Feb. 2. 

“One of the goals of this security software upgrade was to stop the flood of fraudulent claims the Department of Labor has been dealing with, and with over one million fraudulent logins and bot attacks blocked, we are seeing immediate success,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Amber Shultz. “We expect these results to continue, and drive a decline or outright elimination in fraudulent benefit notices that businesses and individuals in Kansas have been receiving. 

“Further, with two-factor authentication tools, Kansans will be able to prove they are who they say they are, and we will be able to release their benefits for payment more efficiently and effectively than before,” Shultz said. A fraudulent login is a criminal trying to access the KDOL software system to file a fraudulent claim. A bot attack is the use of automated web requests to manipulate or disrupt a website, application or end-users online. Originally, these attacks were simple spam operations, but over time have become more sophisticated criminal enterprises. Stopping these bot attacks reduces the strain on the KDOL unemployment insurance IT system, enabling the agency to more effectively analyze and service valid benefit claims.

For legitimate Kansas claimants accessing www.GetKansasBenefits.gov since the completion of KDOL’s security upgrade, each person must create new login credentials to access her or his account. Credentials used prior to the security system upgrade can no longer be used. To create new credentials, every claimant will be required to verify her or his identity by answering questions specific to the person’s credit history. Once an identity is verified, the system will prompt the claimant to set up two-factor authentication for her or his benefit account moving forward. To date, over 55,500 people have been successfully verified by the new system.  

Information on verifying a claimant’s identity with the new security system can be accessed in the agency’s how-to guide, which can be found at https://www.dol.ks.gov/docs/default-source/ui-benefits-forms/how-to-register-with-okta.pdf. 

Since March 15, KDOL has paid out over 3.9 million weekly claims totaling over $2.6 billion between regular unemployment and the federal pandemic programs. For more information, or to apply for unemployment benefits, go to www.GetKansasBenefits.gov.