The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has shared some shameless photoshop fails from fraudsters claiming to live in the UK and claiming benefits.
There was a surge in Universal Credit claims from abroad during the coronavirus pandemic, the DWP said. One picture shows a man crudely photoshopped outside a front door after being asked to send proof he lived in the UK.
Digital forensic analysts and investigators from the DWP's counter fraud office in Newcastle have been working through the bogus claims, which totalled £8.6bn last year, reports ChronicleLive.
The experts also noticed the same front door appeared in photos sent in by a number of claimants trying to prove they lived in the UK.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “When the pandemic hit, we saw a surge in Universal Credit claims, which demanded an extraordinary response to help all those in urgent need.
"Regrettably, unscrupulous fraudsters took advantage but we are rooting them out and have already reviewed 900,000 claims. We made savings from correction and prevention of fraud and error of £2bn last year alone.
"But we’re going much further, through our robust fraud plan to prevent £2bn of loss over the next three years, and over £4bn over the next five years.”
The DWP says it has launched a strategy to lessen fraud and error in the benefits system, which will include a new type of civil penalty for fraud. It is hoped the plan will stop an estimated loss of £2bn over the next three years, and £4bn over five years.
An additional £613m will be invested in combating fraud and error, with more than two million Universal Credit claims also being reviewed and 2000 trained specialists hired to review the claims.
A further £280m will be invested to increase levels of protection against fraud and error over the next two years, which will allow staff to review the majority of Universal Credit claims.
DWP officials say there is no suggestion the people in the images have committed fraud, or are linked to the location shown but the pictures are examples of faked images sent to the department.
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