DWP may monitor bank accounts or social media over Christmas in benefits crackdown
A new team is being set up by the Department for Work and Pensions to crack down on benefits fraud and errors. For those on benefits, claims can be investigated at any time - even over the Christmas and New Year period - and this can include monitoring bank accounts or social media activity or other surveillance.
What is considered benefit fraud? The DWP considers benefit fraud to be when someone "obtains state benefit they are not entitled to or deliberately fails to report a change in their personal circumstances." The most common fraud is when a person receives unemployment benefits while working, while another form is when someone states that they live alone but are financially supported by a partner or spouse.
There is a common misconception that the only people who get investigated for benefits fraud and other offences to with the DWP are those who are openly scamming the system. While the DWP does act on reports from the public, it also has its own sophisticated means of detecting when fraudulent activity might be taking place.
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