The Department for Work and Pensions can monitor the social media activity of people on benefits over the festive period to help detect any fraud.
Earlier this year, the DWP shared details of a new plan to stop millions of pounds being lost in fraud and error. Between 2021 and 2022, there have been 600 convictions for benefit fraud across the UK and the ‘Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System’ plan outlines how the DWP is creating a new 2,000-strong team dedicated to reviewing more than two million existing Universal Credit claims.
This new team will review the entitlements and circumstances of Universal Credit claims that the DWP deems are at risk of being incorrect, including suspicious cases which entered the system during the height of the pandemic - this review is expected to stop around £2b of losses due to fraud and error over the next five years, reports the Daily Record.
