Benefit fraudsters made £1.5bn in fake claims as coronavirus loosened application rules

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CRIMINALS may have pocketed at least £1.5billion in taxpayer money through fake Universal Credit claims.

The process for making a claim has been relaxed to make sure people receive their money quickly, including identity checks made online, rather than face to face.

Up to £1.5billion may have been claimed by criminals

These changes have led to a huge rise in false claims, which may have resulted in a loss of £1.5billion, the BBC reports.

It says fake claims have been made by organised criminal groups and individuals.

It comes as the number of people claiming Universal Credit in April soared by 70 per cent, to almost 2.1million.

There were 856,500 more people claiming unemployment benefits in April 2020 compared to March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In order to process benefits claims quickly, many of the usual processes were relaxed in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

These included identity checks being done online instead of with face-to-face interviews, and some information not being verified such as monthly outgoings including rent.

Officials told the BBC that while the vast majority of checks were from genuine applicants, looser checks did open the doors for criminals to make fake claims.

A DWP spokesperson said: “Our focus is on getting money to those who need it and thanks to the extraordinary efforts of staff, since mid-March we’ve managed to process more than two million new claims for Universal Credit.

“We continue to monitor benefit fraud very closely and will relentlessly pursue the minority attempting to abuse the system using the full range of available powers, including prosecution through the courts.

“Our detection systems make use of increasingly sophisticated techniques to identify discrepancies and thwart those seeking to rip off taxpayers.”

The level of fraud in the welfare system is currently at 1.4 per cent. But for Universal Credit it is 7.6 per cent, which is a 27 per cent rise in a year, according to the BBC.

It’s not the first time the benefits system has been targetted and last year we reported that fake claims, including one which referenced Harry Kane as a landlord, were made.

HOAR has been calling for claimants’ wait for their first Universal Credit payment to be slashed from five weeks to two weeks as part of its campaign to Make Universal Credit Work.

We also want to see the work allowance increased, the taper rate slashed and childcare payments made upfront rather than in arrears.

Welfare expert, Nichola Salvato, is answering your Universal Credit questions. Her most recent column looks at what happens to payments if your medical assessment is cancelled.

If you’re struggling with your finances, we have 11 steps for getting out of debt.

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