There are many ways in which individuals can deceive the state by committing fraud. If counting the new types of frauds which appeared in the past few years, it could be said that wrongdoers have become more creative than ever and can find a way of cheating in no time.
One of the most common types of frauds which has increased in the UK is benefit fraud, as the social security system in this country is one of the best in Europe. Significant amounts of money reach those without jobs or other sources of income and offer them good living conditions.
Speculating on these benefits, more and more individuals have started pretending they are in need of financial help and this has raised a red flag on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the United Kingdom. This new type of fraud is known as benefit or welfare fraud.
What exactly does benefit fraud mean?
Welfare fraud in the UK has become such a serious issue that the government has enabled a special legal framework in order to punish such offence. Now, the Welfare Reform Act of 2012 is the main law covering benefit fraud in the United Kingdom.
According to the DWP, benefit fraud is defined as false declaration with the intent of obtaining social benefits. Under the same category of welfare fraud is also failing to disclose any change in their personal conditions which would lead to the benefit to stop. In most cases, unemployed individuals who obtain incomes from other sources are usually known for committing such offences.
Benefits falling under the Welfare Reform Law
There are several types of benefits individuals usually fail to report in order for the authorities to cease them once the person’s condition changes. The most common are:
– employment allowance
– jobseeker’s allowance
– career’s allowance
– working tax credit
– incapacity benefit
– housing benefit
– industrial reduced earnings allowance
– sick leave payment
These are just a few of the types of benefit frauds which are committed in the UK, the list being more extensive.
Reporting benefit fraud in the UK
Unfortunately, the authorities have a few possibilities of spotting all individuals’ benefit frauds, so one of the most efficient ways in which such persons can be exposed is the…
