Benefit cheats claim £2.3m in bogus handouts

Published on Saturday 30 May 2009 11:18

A SOARING number of benefits cheats in Edinburgh have been caught scamming £2.3 million in a single year, it was revealed today.

One city resident was discovered to have earned almost 50,000 by falsely claiming benefits while working.

Experts warn that the recession will lead to many more people making bogus claims.

Figures obtained by the Evening News show today that an average of 34 people in Edinburgh every month are now being caught by fraud investigators falsely claiming benefit – an increase of more than 40 per cent in two years.

Although many avoided prosecution, each one faced having to pay back the illegally-claimed cash, while many had to pay a penalty set at around 30 per cent of what they stole.

Investigators from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said the rise was due to improvements in detecting cheats using new technology, but politicians said more needed to be done to crack down on bogus claims.

Lothians MSP Gavin Brown said: "These figures will cause concern and are moving entirely in the wrong direction.

"The money would be better spent on people in Edinburgh who genuinely need and deserve help. Robust action needs to be taken as swiftly as possible."

A team of 30 investigators in the Capital alone carry out covert surveillance on suspects.

The most popular frauds are working while claiming unemployment, working while taking incapacity benefits, overstating disabilities to increase payments, and falsely taking single person discounts on council tax.

Christine McLaughlin, acting area fraud investigator for Scotland, said: "We're no longer seeing typical jobs that people are working while claiming. It can involve those from any background or social group.

"The estimate is that 98 out of 100 of customers are honest and are entitled to their claim. Our message to those trying to cheat is that they will be caught."

DWP investigators often mount undercover surveillance on suspects to try and catch them working while claiming benefits.

Teams make visits to building sites and other workplaces, as well as carrying out spot checks on workers at private homes, such as window cleaners or gardeners.

Ms McLaughlin added: "The rise is due to improvements in our detection methods, particularly through data matching. We can check customers against electronic records held by the inland revenue and other agencies.

"We can look to see if they have occupational pensions or other indicators that they're working while claiming. Investigators can get access to bank accounts to check deposits, and bills."

The DWP also works with the city council to help identify benefit cheats through the local authority's voice risk analysis software.

The technology can detect changes in a caller's voices to give an indication of levels of stress while they make a claim and questionable cases can prompt investigations.

Councillor Phil Wheeler, convener of the city's finance committee, said: "The council works with the DWP to target benefit thieves through a range of initiatives."