WASHINGTON—Generous unemployment benefits put in place by the CARES Act and subsequent relief packages have become an easy target for identity thieves and other criminals since the beginning of the pandemic last year. Most states have been hit by fraud committed on a vast scale, mainly by international organized crime rings. In March, the Labor Department inspector general’s office estimated that more than $63 billion in unemployment benefits was paid out improperly through fraud or errors since the beginning of the pandemic. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) called it “a frightening number” that exceeds “the entire budget of the Department of Homeland Security.” During a virtual roundtable she hosted on May 10 with state leaders, employers, and fraud victims, Walorski said that “criminal organizations, including international cybercrime rings, prison inmates, and opportunistic foreign actors are using stolen identities to falsely claim unemployment benefits.” In the state of Indiana, for example, nearly …