Fraudsters are targeting one particular benefit as billions of pounds are going to people who are not entitled to the money.
The Department for Work and Pensions has warned that Universal Credit is a go-to for scammers trying to defraud the benefit system amid the Cost of Living crisis. The DWP says 10% of Universal Credit payments in 2023-2024 were made to people who were not entitled to some or all of the money they ended up with.
Fraud accounted for £7.4b in overpayments of all benefits - a rise on the £6.3b in 2022-2023, reports BirminghamLive. And the DWP says Universal Credit was the majority at £5.66b in fraud compared with £4.93b the year before.
- Read More: DWP issues fraud warning to Universal Credit and other benefit claimants who have a partner
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A report from the Government department stated that an “increasing propensity for fraud in society” was a trend that began before the pandemic and has continued after it. The annual report added: “The overall conclusion of this analysis is that there is an increasing trend in the underlying propensity towards fraudulent behaviour, which can be expected to place an upwards pressure on fraud in the welfare system.
"DWP has estimated through the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expenditure forecasts that this long-term behavioural trend creates a headwind that would cause fraud levels to grow at around 5% per year without action to reduce it. Based on the variety of evidence highlighting a long-term sustained increase in fraudulent behaviour, this trend is expected to continue throughout the OBR forecasting period over the next five years."
A DWP spokesperson said: "This Government will not tolerate fraud or waste anywhere in public services, including in the social security system. We are determined to reduce fraud and error and are currently exploring all options on how best to achieve our goal."
It estimated that fraud levels could grow at around 5% each year without action to reduce them.
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