Fraudsters making bogus Universal Credit claims stealing millions of pounds of taxpayer cash
FRAUDSTERS making bogus Universal Credit claims have stolen millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.
Scores of fake applications included one saying Harry Kane was the claimant’s landlord and another from a 19-year-old mum said to have "six blind children".
A found that scammers were exploiting a loophole in the online application process for Universal Credit to claim advance loans on behalf of others who have no idea they are being signed up.
Often the victim only found out about the fraud when they received a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to say they were signed up to Universal Credit and that their other existing benefits, such as tax credits, would be stopped.
It led to "money pouring out of the public purse" at the DWP.
The fraud was revealed on an internal forum for DWP staff on where users said the scam was rife in the north of England.
'CHILDREN NAMED HA, HA AND HA'
One user said: "How many more times can claimants add children named Ha, Ha and Ha to their UC claims, or add a landlord called Harry Kane, or add any other obviously made-up names to claim a UC advance?”
Another official added: "Around 200-300 new referrals every day" in the region are fictitious.
"At between £1,200 and £1,500 for each advance, the numbers are staggering".
One of the original goals of Universal Credit was to save the Government about a billion pounds in fraud and error.
At one Job Centre more than a third of claims were suspected of being fake, meanwhile £100,000 of fraudulent activity each month was recorded at another branch.
The DWP estimates 10 per cent of the 100,000 or more advance loans paid monthly are potentially fake, the BBC reported.
Jade Thomas, 31, from Manchester, now owes more than £1,525 to the DWP for a loan arranged for her by a fraudster.
Now, she has 12 months to payback the loan, a portion of which is automatically deducted from her monthly Universal Credit payout by the DWP.
The unexpected debt has pushed her into arrears with both her rent and council tax.
The DWP said it was aware of the issue and had a team of staff working to identify cases of fraud, with one conviction already secured.
Work and Pensions minister Baroness Buscombe said: "Fraud and error in the benefit system remains low, and we continue to work hard to identify and tackle any instances that occur.
"Those involved in the despicable practice of preying on vulnerable people to steal their benefits are parasites, and we are determined to bring them to justice.
"We’re encouraging people to listen to their instincts. If someone offers you a low-cost loan from the Government they may be trying to steal your identity.
"Treat your personal information for benefits in the same way you would for your bank. And if you think you’ve been targeted, we urge you to report it urgently."
The Government's advance payments are pushing millions of vulnerable Brits into debt and hardship, a new report has found.
These are offered to cash-strapped families to get them through the five week wait before their first Universal Credit payment.
The Sun wants to Make Universal Credit Work by calling on the Government to slash the wait time to two weeks.
A group of MPs issued the same warning about the five-week wait back in January this year.
In February, DWP Secretary Amber Rudd admitted that Universal Credit has pushed people to food banks since being rolled out in 2013.
In November last year, she hinted that the wait-time could be cut downbut still nothing has changed.
The Sun wants to Make Universal Credit Work
UNIVERSAL Credit replaces six benefits with a single monthly payment.
One million people are already receiving it and by the time the system is fully rolled out in 2023, nearly 7 million will be on it.
But there are big problems with the flagship new system - it takes 5 weeks to get the first payment and it could leave some families worse off by thousands of pounds a year.
And while working families can claim back up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, they must find the money to pay for childcare upfront - we’ve heard of families waiting up to 6 months for the money.
Working parents across the country told us they’ve been unable to take on more hours - or have even turned down better paid jobs or more hours because of the amount they get their benefits cut.
It’s time to Make Universal Credit work. We want the government to:
- Get paid faster: The Government must slash the time Brits wait for their first Universal Credit payments from five to two weeks, helping stop 7 million from being pushed into debt.
- Keep more of what you earn: The work allowance should be increased and the taper rate should be slashed from from 63p to 50p, helping at least 4 million families.
- Don’t get punished for having a family: Parents should get the 85 per cent of the money they can claim for childcare upfront instead of being paid in arrears.
Together, these changes will help Make Universal Credit Work.
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