7 things the DWP check your bank account for to check for benefit fraud (2024)

The Department for Work and Pensions is checking bank accounts and social media posts in a crackdown on benefits fraud.

There are 23 million people receiving money from the DWP, including 12.4 million claiming State Pension, almost six million on Universal Credit, 2.9 million on Housing Benefit, 2.7 million on Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and 1.8 million on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). But during the pandemic, fraud and error in the UK benefits system have reached record levels, with a reported £8.4 billion overpaid in the last financial year.

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The DWP estimates that 3.9 per cent of benefits spending was overpaid during 2020/21, Birmingham Live reports, with £6.3 billion of the overpayments believed to be due to fraud, primarily arising from Universal Credit claims.

Universal Credit director-general Neil Couling stated the DWP's fraud and error probe could see thousands of claimants approached over the coming months. Investigators can turn up at your home or workplace at any time in plain clothes if they suspect foul play. They also use a wide range of powers to gather evidence such as surveillance, document tracing, interviews, checking your bank accounts and monitoring your social media.

The DWP said: "In simple terms an overpayment is benefit that the claimant has received but is not entitled to. Overpayments of benefit can occur in a number of ways. In the main they are due to claimant, system or official error."

It has outlined seven types of overpayments it looks for:

1. Mistake by the claimant (non-disclosure of circ*mstances or incomplete form)
2. Deliberate fraud by the claimant (failing to disclose a material fact or deliberate misrepresentation)
3. Interim and advance payments including short term benefit advance that could not be recovered from the benefit for which they were paid
4. Universal Credit recoverable hardship payments (classed as an overpayment for recovery purposes if recovery can no longer be taken from the benefit that was in place at the time of payment)
5. Overpayment due to late award of other benefit/income
6. Pverpayments due to the way in which the Direct Payment banking system operates
7. Official error – only applies to Universal Credit and contributory Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance claims made on or after April 29, 2013

In each of those cases, it can make efforts to get the money back under Social Security legislation. You may be taken to court where a fine of up to £5,000 can be imposed. A person's benefits can be cut for up to three years if they are convicted of benefit fraud.

But not all benefits can be reduced or stopped. You can see the full list of those that can and cannot be stopped below.

A DWP spokesman said: "We take any abuse of taxpayers' money very seriously and those who claim benefits they are not entitled to will face criminal prosecution. We also have robust plans in place to recover fraudulent claims and drive fraud and error down to the lowest feasible level."

The 20 benefits that can be stopped if you commit benefit fraud

1. Carer’s Allowance
2. Employment and Support Allowance
3. Housing Benefit
4. Incapacity Benefit
5. Income Support
6. Industrial Death Benefit
7. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
8. Industrial Injuries Reduced Earnings Allowance
9. Industrial Injuries Retirement Allowance
10. Industrial Injuries Unemployability Supplement
11. Jobseeker’s Allowance
12. Severe Disablement Allowance
13. Pension Credit
14. Universal Credit
15. War Disablement Pension
16. War Widow’s Pension
17. War Pension Unemployability Supplement
18. War Pension Allowance for Lower Standard of Occupation
19. Widowed Mother’s/Parent’s Allowance
20. Working Tax Credit

The 21 benefits that will NOT be stopped if you commit benefit fraud

1. Attendance Allowance
2. Bereavement Support Payment
3. Child Benefit
4. Child Tax Credit
5. Christmas Bonus
6. Disability Living Allowance
7. Graduated Retirement Benefit
8. Guardian’s Allowance
9. Industrial Injuries Constant Attendance Allowance (where a Disablement Pension is payable)
10. Industrial Injuries Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance (where a Disablement Pension is payable)
11. Personal Independence Payment
12. State Pension
13. Social Fund Payments
14. War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance
15. War Pension Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance
16. War Pension Mobility Supplement
17. Maternity Allowance
18. Statutory Adoption Pay
19. Statutory Maternity Pay
20. Statutory Paternity Pay
21. Statutory Sick Pay

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