Crackdown on fraudsters exposes nearly £2billion of false benefits claims and overpayments 

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Crackdown on fraudsters exposes nearly £2billion of false benefits claims and overpayments

  • The National Fraud Initiative matches data with public and private sector bodies
  • It has identified £245 million of incorrect payments in the past two years alone
  • The abuses range from housing benefits to disabled parking badges

By Mail on Sunday Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Almost £2 billion of false benefits claims and overpayments have been exposed in a crackdown on fraudsters.

The work of the National Fraud Initiative was praised yesterday by Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who said state help was ‘for the most vulnerable in our society, not those who fraudulently claim money that they don’t deserve’.

The NFI has identified £1.9 billion of incorrect payments, including £245 million in the past two years alone. The abuses range from housing benefits to disabled parking badges [File photo]

The NFI, set up in 1996, matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies.

It has identified £1.9 billion of incorrect payments, including £245 million in the past two years alone. The abuses range from housing benefits to disabled parking badges.

Its work is to be extended to cover this year’s emergency grants in relation to Covid-19.

Now, I¿ve often confessed that I struggle with maths. But even I can see that £95 (to be fair, a thoroughly reasonable fee for an accountant) is a somewhat larger sum than the £12.70 she saved me [File photo]

Almost £2 billion of false benefits claims and overpayments have been exposed in a crackdown on fraudsters [File photo]