Covid fraud hotline shuts despite warning of billions lost to scams

THE Crimestoppers Covid hotline has been shuttered as the Government downs tools in its fight against pandemic fraud.

The Cabinet Office has quietly closed the telephone hotline despite warnings that billions of pounds in pandemic-era fraud has yet to be uncovered.

It was launched in October 2020 for people to anonymously report suspected fraudulent activity.

At the time, Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez said: “Many people work hard to pay their taxes, so it’s a gross injustice that fraudsters are shamefully taking advantage of measures set up to help people during the lockdown.

“We cannot let criminals profit from the Covid crisis, as every pound stolen by fraudsters could be invested in our vital public services.” The National Audit Office recently warned that the total figure for fraudulent business loan claims is yet to be established and could rise as high as £5bn.

It follows criticism that Covid-era lending schemes lacked adequate checks and failed to protect against widespread fraud.

In a frantic attempt to keep businesses afloat as the country was

‘People work hard to pay taxes so it’s a gross injustice fraudsters exploit help for them during lockdown’ plunged into lockdown, Rishi Sunak, the then chancellor, launched a number of emergency loan schemes in early 2020 including the Coronavirus

Business Interruption Loans (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loans, which were guaranteed by the Government.

But £1.1bn of the state-backed loans handed to small businesses has been classified as fraudulent so far, according to the latest Government data.

The Cabinet Office is the process of migrating data obtained from the hotline to another system so it can be accessed by the Insolvency Service. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “The Cabinet Office Covid fraud hotline ended in September 2022. The hotline was closed after these support schemes came to an end as the UK ended all Covid restrictions following the success of the vaccine rollout.

“The Government has continued to ensure that any potential fraud is reported to relevant organisations and the police.”