Universal Credit warning: 7 signs DWP looks for that could lead to £5,000 fine
dailystar.co.ukBenefit fraud is nothing new, but it reached a new high during the pandemic with £8.4 billion being overpaid by the DWP. In response to the increasing cases of benefit-related fraud, the DWP has begun to monitor social media and bank accounts of benefit claimants whom it deems to be suspicious.When it comes to benefit fraud, the DWP has the power to investigate and gather evidence of the fraud by monitoring social media and bank accounts, surveillance, document tracing as well as interviews.
Officials may even show up at a claimant’s work or home at any time in plain clothes. With rising cases of fraud increasing, probes are likely to be conducted on thousands of claimants soon.
Here are seven signs they will be looking for.Benefit fraud can be committed in many ways, but two of the most common methods are deliberately claiming a benefit one is not entitled to or not reporting a change of circumstances affecting your entitlement.
There are seven types of overpayments that the DWP look for specifically when investigating potential benefits fraud. These are: In terms of Universal Credit, hardship payments are considered an overpayment if the funds cannot be recovered from the benefit that was in place at the time of payment.Benefit frauds generally result in overpayment and fraudsters could be made to pay this back if they are caught in addition to other punishments.
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