A new team is being set up by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to crack down on benefits fraud and errors. For those on benefits, claims can be investigated at any time - even over the Christmas and New Year period - and this can include monitoring bank accounts or social media activity or other surveillance.
Earlier this year, the DWP outlined a new plan aimed at stopping an estimated £4 billion being lost to fraud and error over the next five years. As part of the plan, it has created a team of 2,000 staff to review the entitlements and circumstances of claims that the DWP considers at risk of being incorrect, reports the Daily Record.
More than two million existing Universal Credit claims will be reviewed - including "suspicious" cases which entered the benefits system at the height of the Covid pandemic. According to the DWP, there was an estimated £6.3 billion worth of welfare fraud last year - up from £2.8 billion from the year before - as well as £2.1 billion worth of error.
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This puts the combined losses as a result of fraud and error at £8.4 billion (£.9% of benefit expenditure). There were 600 convictions for benefit fraud across the UK between 2021 and this year.
What is considered benefit fraud?
The DWP considers benefit fraud to be when someone "obtains state benefit they are not entitled to or deliberately fails to report a change in their personal circumstances." The most common fraud is when a person receives unemployment benefits while working, while another form is when someone states that they live alone but are financially supported by a partner or spouse.
Benefits-related fraud usually occurs where someone has claimed benefits to which they were not entitled on purpose, such as by providing false information. If you don't tell DWP about a change of your circumstances - such as your partner now living with you, or you moving house, or a relative dying and leaving you some money - it may be seen as "fraud by omission".
Common examples of benefit fraud
- faking an illness or injury to get unemployment or disability benefits
- failing to report income from a business or employment to make income seem lower than it actually is
- living with someone who contributes to the household income without declaring that income to the authorities
- falsifying accounts to make it seem like a person has less money than they say they do
In each circumstance, the DWP needs evidence to shows that someone is receiving a benefit that they would not normally be entitled to. Many investigators wear plain clothes and can show up at your home or work at any time.
How is benefit fraud investigated?
Fraud investigators are able to gather evidence in a number of ways, including surveillance, interviews, and document tracing. Under the new proposals, their powers will be broadened to include executing warrants, search and seizure of evidence and even making arrests.
There is a common misconception that the only people who get investigated for benefits fraud and other offences to with the DWP are those who are openly scamming the system. While the DWP does act on reports from the public, it also has its own sophisticated means of detecting when fraudulent activity might be taking place.
You won’t know the exact details of an investigation against you until you are told about it afterwards. If they find enough evidence of potential fraud, the DWP will start a formal investigation and notify you.
What happens during a DWP investigation
In the early stages, you may not be told until the DWP has assessed whether there is good reason to formally investigate. That's because many tip-offs and reports turn out to be false, so the DWP wants to make sure that they do not waste their time.
DWP investigators are allowed to gather many types of evidence against a potentially fraudulent claimant. The most common include:
- inspector reports from surveillance activities
- photographs or videos
- audio recordings
- correspondence
- financial data, including bank statements
- interviews with you or people you know
- any evidence submitted by those who reported you
If you claim unemployment benefits but are seen at a workplace, the DWP may talk to the owner or manager of that business to find out exactly why you are there, what work you are doing and how much you are being paid. Falsely reporting income, or not reporting it at all, is one of the most common forms of benefit fraud.
Investigators may also check your social media accounts and search your online profiles for pictures, location check-ins, and other evidence which may be useful. Social media can help investigators to piece together a picture of what that person’s life is actually like and if it isn't consistent with their benefits claim, that evidence may end up being used against them.
If the DWP decide to formally investigate you, they will then notify you in writing, by phone, or by email - though this is usually done through the post. You will also be told whether you will be visited from a Fraud Investigation Officer (FIO), or whether they require you to attend an interview.
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