Universal credit fraudsters ‘take £20m’

Fraudsters targeting the new universal credit welfare have used a loophole to steal “tens of millions of pounds” of public money and leave claimants owing hundreds, it has been reported.

A BBC investigation uncovered reports of fraudulent claims being filed on behalf of people tricked into handing over ID by being told they were gettiong a government grant. The fraudstaers used cartoon character names, and claimed to have “six blind children”. The criminals exploited a loophole in the online system to fraudulently apply for universal credit and claim advance loans on behalf of people who have no idea they are being signed up for the benefit.

The BBC says a benefits official told them that in one job centre more than a third of claims are currently suspected of being bogus.

Messages from an internal DWP message board reportedly said fraudulent claimants had named children “Ha, Ha and Ha”, Simpson’s characters Lisa, Bart and Homer and suggested “the loss of taxpayers’ money could be in the region of £20 million”.

Ironically, one of the original goals of universal credit was to save about a billion pounds in fraud and error.

The DWP said it had already secured its first conviction for this type of fraud. DWP minister Baroness Buscombe added: “If someone offers you a low-cost loan from the government, they may be trying to steal your identity.”