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Universal Tax Credits Scam
JohnAllan
Posts: 26 Forumite
Hello,
On the 12th September 2019 my partner was scammed by a ‘friend’ of a friend and I am seeking some help for her.
She was was promised a ‘free’ sum of money. All she had to do was provide some personal details and follow a few instructions. This scam has recently been in the british news.
Shortly after confirming her identity on Post Office website she was credited with £1525 into her bank account.
With no understanding where this money had come from, the scammer then insisted that she sent him £1200 as a fee.
Quite scared and mislead, she followed the instructions and was left with a few hundred pounds.
After I looked into this, I uncovered it was a scam. The scammer will apply for ‘Universal Tax Credits’ on behalf of the victim.
The scammer inputted false information on gov.uk on her behalf. In this case that my partner was unemployed, had three children, two of them disabled, one blind, and expense rent. None of which is true.
The scammer then applies for a ‘Cash Advance’ and re-routes most of the money back to themselves, claiming it to be a ‘finders fee’. I managed to log into gov.uk and see what had been set up.
After the identity theft and benefit fraud has been committed, the scammer fails to tell the victim that the cash advance MUST be repaid. Normally it will be taken from your monthly allowance of credits. But that’s only if you attend and pass the interview proving your circumstances.
The first time any victim of this scam will know about what’s been set up in their name is when the DWP write to you asking to repay it back.
My partner has just received her 1st letter from DWP and I will detail the attempts to resolve this below. I hope there is someone out there who can advise on who to contact to get this sorted.
1. As soon as we realised this was a scam back in September we contacted the bank. They put a block on her account and also the scammers.
2. We also immediately contacted Universal Tax Credits and explained the situation. They took notes and booked us an appointment at the Job Centre so we could provide evidence.
3. 2 weeks later we arrive at the Job Centre to find out that they can’t do anything about it and they were confused as to why we’d been sent there. What they were able to do though is cancel the credits and close the claim. They told us to wait for DWP to write to us, then we’ll be able to provide evidence and get this revoked.
What surprised me though was that the whole Job Centre was decorated with posters and flyers referring to this exact scam, BEWARE! however the staff did not have any procedures in place for the victims. They also told us to contact ‘Action Fraud’ an online service to report scams and fraud.
4. Action Fraud’s response to the scam was along the lines of “because no company has suffered a financial loss we don’t deem this to be a criminal matter”. O...K....
5. We wait and receive the 1st debt collection letter directly from DWP today. We try to ring and wait over an hour to get spoken to. The friendly lady explained that they only 'issue the advance', and we’d have to contact Universal Credits to have them take my partners name off the debt and then DWP will just go about recovering it from UC.
6. So, we contact Universal Tax Credits, today, as instructed. They don’t have any options for us and tell my partner she has to pay it back, and there’s no way around it. Not helpful in the slightest!
So we’ve been bounced from pillar to post trying to get this sorted.
Should we ring the police?
Should we just wait for DWP to issue a debt collection agency and then provide them with the evidence?
Should we write / email any of the above companies with the collected evidence?
We have text message screenshots, numbers and names.
Thank you for any help!
John
On the 12th September 2019 my partner was scammed by a ‘friend’ of a friend and I am seeking some help for her.
She was was promised a ‘free’ sum of money. All she had to do was provide some personal details and follow a few instructions. This scam has recently been in the british news.
Shortly after confirming her identity on Post Office website she was credited with £1525 into her bank account.
With no understanding where this money had come from, the scammer then insisted that she sent him £1200 as a fee.
Quite scared and mislead, she followed the instructions and was left with a few hundred pounds.
After I looked into this, I uncovered it was a scam. The scammer will apply for ‘Universal Tax Credits’ on behalf of the victim.
The scammer inputted false information on gov.uk on her behalf. In this case that my partner was unemployed, had three children, two of them disabled, one blind, and expense rent. None of which is true.
The scammer then applies for a ‘Cash Advance’ and re-routes most of the money back to themselves, claiming it to be a ‘finders fee’. I managed to log into gov.uk and see what had been set up.
After the identity theft and benefit fraud has been committed, the scammer fails to tell the victim that the cash advance MUST be repaid. Normally it will be taken from your monthly allowance of credits. But that’s only if you attend and pass the interview proving your circumstances.
The first time any victim of this scam will know about what’s been set up in their name is when the DWP write to you asking to repay it back.
My partner has just received her 1st letter from DWP and I will detail the attempts to resolve this below. I hope there is someone out there who can advise on who to contact to get this sorted.
1. As soon as we realised this was a scam back in September we contacted the bank. They put a block on her account and also the scammers.
2. We also immediately contacted Universal Tax Credits and explained the situation. They took notes and booked us an appointment at the Job Centre so we could provide evidence.
3. 2 weeks later we arrive at the Job Centre to find out that they can’t do anything about it and they were confused as to why we’d been sent there. What they were able to do though is cancel the credits and close the claim. They told us to wait for DWP to write to us, then we’ll be able to provide evidence and get this revoked.
What surprised me though was that the whole Job Centre was decorated with posters and flyers referring to this exact scam, BEWARE! however the staff did not have any procedures in place for the victims. They also told us to contact ‘Action Fraud’ an online service to report scams and fraud.
4. Action Fraud’s response to the scam was along the lines of “because no company has suffered a financial loss we don’t deem this to be a criminal matter”. O...K....
5. We wait and receive the 1st debt collection letter directly from DWP today. We try to ring and wait over an hour to get spoken to. The friendly lady explained that they only 'issue the advance', and we’d have to contact Universal Credits to have them take my partners name off the debt and then DWP will just go about recovering it from UC.
6. So, we contact Universal Tax Credits, today, as instructed. They don’t have any options for us and tell my partner she has to pay it back, and there’s no way around it. Not helpful in the slightest!
So we’ve been bounced from pillar to post trying to get this sorted.
Should we ring the police?
Should we just wait for DWP to issue a debt collection agency and then provide them with the evidence?
Should we write / email any of the above companies with the collected evidence?
We have text message screenshots, numbers and names.
Thank you for any help!
John
0
Comments
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I'd advocate contacting the local MP (Bearing in mind that they might be busy right now, and out of a job soon in some cases) and getting them on the case.
This is a well known scam and has been going on in various forms, even before UC, and DWP shouldn't let it be as easy as it is to get money like this.0 -
Free money? Simply provide a few personal details... enough details to create an entire UC claim around it?
Some people truly were born yesterday. As far as I'm concerned both your partner and the scammer are equally to blame. The public purse shouldnt be punished because someone was daft enough to be complicit in fraud, whether scammed or not. where exactly was she told this free money was coming from, that she needed to provide her NI number, bank details, birth date etc to get...0 -
Hello,
On the 12th September 2019 my partner was scammed by a ‘friend’ of a friend and I am seeking some help for her.
She was was promised a ‘free’ sum of money. All she had to do was provide some personal details and follow a few instructions. This scam has recently been in the british news.
Shortly after confirming her identity on Post Office website she was credited with £1525 into her bank account.
With no understanding where this money had come from, the scammer then insisted that she sent him £1200 as a fee.
Quite scared and mislead, she followed the instructions and was left with a few hundred pounds.
After I looked into this, I uncovered it was a scam. The scammer will apply for ‘Universal Tax Credits’ on behalf of the victim.
The scammer inputted false information on gov.uk on her behalf. In this case that my partner was unemployed, had three children, two of them disabled, one blind, and expense rent. None of which is true.
The scammer then applies for a ‘Cash Advance’ and re-routes most of the money back to themselves, claiming it to be a ‘finders fee’. I managed to log into gov.uk and see what had been set up.
After the identity theft and benefit fraud has been committed, the scammer fails to tell the victim that the cash advance MUST be repaid. Normally it will be taken from your monthly allowance of credits. But that’s only if you attend and pass the interview proving your circumstances.
The first time any victim of this scam will know about what’s been set up in their name is when the DWP write to you asking to repay it back.
My partner has just received her 1st letter from DWP and I will detail the attempts to resolve this below. I hope there is someone out there who can advise on who to contact to get this sorted.
1. As soon as we realised this was a scam back in September we contacted the bank. They put a block on her account and also the scammers.
2. We also immediately contacted Universal Tax Credits and explained the situation. They took notes and booked us an appointment at the Job Centre so we could provide evidence.
3. 2 weeks later we arrive at the Job Centre to find out that they can’t do anything about it and they were confused as to why we’d been sent there. What they were able to do though is cancel the credits and close the claim. They told us to wait for DWP to write to us, then we’ll be able to provide evidence and get this revoked.
What surprised me though was that the whole Job Centre was decorated with posters and flyers referring to this exact scam, BEWARE! however the staff did not have any procedures in place for the victims. They also told us to contact ‘Action Fraud’ an online service to report scams and fraud.
4. Action Fraud’s response to the scam was along the lines of “because no company has suffered a financial loss we don’t deem this to be a criminal matter”. O...K....
5. We wait and receive the 1st debt collection letter directly from DWP today. We try to ring and wait over an hour to get spoken to. The friendly lady explained that they only 'issue the advance', and we’d have to contact Universal Credits to have them take my partners name off the debt and then DWP will just go about recovering it from UC.
6. So, we contact Universal Tax Credits, today, as instructed. They don’t have any options for us and tell my partner she has to pay it back, and there’s no way around it. Not helpful in the slightest!
So we’ve been bounced from pillar to post trying to get this sorted.
Should we ring the police?
Should we just wait for DWP to issue a debt collection agency and then provide them with the evidence?
Should we write / email any of the above companies with the collected evidence?
We have text message screenshots, numbers and names.
Thank you for any help!
John
The highlighted text in red says it all - to get some free money.
Purple text - if you knew of the scam why do it? or is this before the news reportings?
Surely no one is to blame but your partner - sorry to say it but why would anyone give out so much personal info to someone you don't know?
It seems you have tried all avenues to get repaid and not succeeded so isn't that a sign!
I very much doubt the police will get your money back, however they may investigate your allegations“You’re only here for a short visit.
Don’t hurry, don't worry and be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”Walter Hagen
365 Day 1p Challenge for 2021 #41 ✅
Jar £440.31/£667.95 and Bank £389.67/£667.950 -
So your partner in no way thinks she has contributed to this situation. All I am reading is 'it was someones else's fault'.
Why on earth would you give personal data to someone you barely (if at all) know.
The money was paid into your partners account, she will be liable for it. If the bank get wind of what happened expect then account to be closed with a potential fraud marker.0 -
Universal tax credits, that doesn't exist. These sorts of posts just add to the confusion out there.Blackpool_Saver is female, and does not live in Blackpool0
-
I'd advocate contacting the local MP (Bearing in mind that they might be busy right now, and out of a job soon in some cases) and getting them on the case.
This is a well known scam and has been going on in various forms, even before UC, and DWP shouldn't let it be as easy as it is to get money like this.
How is it easy? She gave them all her personal details, and even confirmed her identity online. Doesnt sound that easy! I could apply for a loan with those details, open a bank account...
Also forgive my ignorance but don't DWP payments show as being from the DWP? I know older payments used to have JSA/ESA/DWP in the reference? yet they still transferred a good chunk to some randomer?0 -
Hello,
On the 12th September 2019 my partner was scammed by a ‘friend’ of a friend and I am seeking some help for her.
She was was promised a ‘free’ sum of money. All she had to do was provide some personal details and follow a few instructions. This scam has recently been in the british news.
Shortly after confirming her identity on Post Office website she was credited with £1525 into her bank account.
With no understanding where this money had come from, the scammer then insisted that she sent him £1200 as a fee.
Quite scared and mislead, she followed the instructions and was left with a few hundred pounds.
After I looked into this, I uncovered it was a scam. The scammer will apply for ‘Universal Tax Credits’ on behalf of the victim.
The scammer inputted false information on gov.uk on her behalf. In this case that my partner was unemployed, had three children, two of them disabled, one blind, and expense rent. None of which is true.
The scammer then applies for a ‘Cash Advance’ and re-routes most of the money back to themselves, claiming it to be a ‘finders fee’. I managed to log into gov.uk and see what had been set up.
After the identity theft and benefit fraud has been committed, the scammer fails to tell the victim that the cash advance MUST be repaid. Normally it will be taken from your monthly allowance of credits. But that’s only if you attend and pass the interview proving your circumstances.
The first time any victim of this scam will know about what’s been set up in their name is when the DWP write to you asking to repay it back.
My partner has just received her 1st letter from DWP and I will detail the attempts to resolve this below. I hope there is someone out there who can advise on who to contact to get this sorted.
1. As soon as we realised this was a scam back in September we contacted the bank. They put a block on her account and also the scammers.
2. We also immediately contacted Universal Tax Credits and explained the situation. They took notes and booked us an appointment at the Job Centre so we could provide evidence.
3. 2 weeks later we arrive at the Job Centre to find out that they can’t do anything about it and they were confused as to why we’d been sent there. What they were able to do though is cancel the credits and close the claim. They told us to wait for DWP to write to us, then we’ll be able to provide evidence and get this revoked.
What surprised me though was that the whole Job Centre was decorated with posters and flyers referring to this exact scam, BEWARE! however the staff did not have any procedures in place for the victims. They also told us to contact ‘Action Fraud’ an online service to report scams and fraud.
4. Action Fraud’s response to the scam was along the lines of “because no company has suffered a financial loss we don’t deem this to be a criminal matter”. O...K....
5. We wait and receive the 1st debt collection letter directly from DWP today. We try to ring and wait over an hour to get spoken to. The friendly lady explained that they only 'issue the advance', and we’d have to contact Universal Credits to have them take my partners name off the debt and then DWP will just go about recovering it from UC.
6. So, we contact Universal Tax Credits, today, as instructed. They don’t have any options for us and tell my partner she has to pay it back, and there’s no way around it. Not helpful in the slightest!
So we’ve been bounced from pillar to post trying to get this sorted.
Should we ring the police?
Should we just wait for DWP to issue a debt collection agency and then provide them with the evidence?
Should we write / email any of the above companies with the collected evidence?
We have text message screenshots, numbers and names.
Thank you for any help!
John
Only if your partner is doing so in order to turn herself in. Both she and the scammers are guilty of fraud and should be prosecuted for such. There is no defence whatsoever.0 -
Hello,
On the 12th September 2019 my partner was scammed by a ‘friend’ of a friend and I am seeking some help for her.
She was was promised a ‘free’ sum of money. All she had to do was provide some personal details and follow a few instructions. This scam has recently been in the british news.
Shortly after confirming her identity on Post Office website she was credited with £1525 into her bank account.
With no understanding where this money had come from, the scammer then insisted that she sent him £1200 as a fee. - Surely at this point alarm bells rang? a fee of £1200 to get £325.
Quite scared and mislead, she followed the instructions and was left with a few hundred pounds.
After I looked into this, I uncovered it was a scam. The scammer will apply for ‘Universal Tax Credits’ on behalf of the victim.
The scammer inputted false information on gov.uk on her behalf. In this case that my partner was unemployed, had three children, two of them disabled, one blind, and expense rent. None of which is true.
The scammer then applies for a ‘Cash Advance’ and re-routes most of the money back to themselves, claiming it to be a ‘finders fee’. I managed to log into gov.uk and see what had been set up.
After the identity theft - not theft, she volunteered the details and benefit fraud has been committed, the scammer fails to tell the victim that the cash advance MUST be repaid. Normally it will be taken from your monthly allowance of credits. But that’s only if you attend and pass the interview proving your circumstances.
The first time any victim of this scam will know about what’s been set up in their name is when the DWP write to you asking to repay it back.
My partner has just received her 1st letter from DWP and I will detail the attempts to resolve this below. I hope there is someone out there who can advise on who to contact to get this sorted. - report the fraud to ActionFraud. The DWP have previously stated they will only pursue the amount the victim was actually left with; assuming there's sufficient details of the scammer
1. As soon as we realised this was a scam back in September we contacted the bank. They put a block on her account and also the scammers. - Irrelevant as the money was long gone. Also you may have actually made things worse with a cifas marker, but to some degree there's a short term benefit for that
2. We also immediately contacted Universal Tax Credits and explained the situation. They took notes and booked us an appointment at the Job Centre so we could provide evidence. - sensible
3. 2 weeks later we arrive at the Job Centre to find out that they can’t do anything about it and they were confused as to why we’d been sent there. What they were able to do though is cancel the credits and close the claim. They told us to wait for DWP to write to us, then we’ll be able to provide evidence and get this revoked.
What surprised me though was that the whole Job Centre was decorated with posters and flyers referring to this exact scam, BEWARE! however the staff did not have any procedures in place for the victims. They also told us to contact ‘Action Fraud’ an online service to report scams and fraud. -it's a police service actually
4. Action Fraud’s response to the scam was along the lines of “because no company has suffered a financial loss we don’t deem this to be a criminal matter”. O...K.... - that is obviously incorrect. I suggest you try again
5. We wait and receive the 1st debt collection letter directly from DWP today. We try to ring and wait over an hour to get spoken to. The friendly lady explained that they only 'issue the advance', and we’d have to contact Universal Credits to have them take my partners name off the debt and then DWP will just go about recovering it from UC. - No.
6. So, we contact Universal Tax Credits, today, as instructed. They don’t have any options for us and tell my partner she has to pay it back, and there’s no way around it. Not helpful in the slightest!
So we’ve been bounced from pillar to post trying to get this sorted.
Should we ring the police? - you already have
Should we just wait for DWP to issue a debt collection agency and then provide them with the evidence? - They wont care
Should we write / email any of the above companies with the collected evidence? - yes do that. Including this persons name etc
We have text message screenshots, numbers and names.
Thank you for any help!
John
I think the most sensible idea is to get the MP involved. DWP have come out and said they will only pursue the actual amount the victim receives in genuine scams.0 -
My partner is one of many scam victims and it can happen to anyone if they're mislead. She wasnt aware of what was being done on her behalf and was betrayed by an old friend. The scammers set up the account themselves on gov.uk and didn't actually explain what they are doing. Yes, she's learned a lesson regarding personal information, but that's been done now and the process of recovering the debt has began.
Update:
7. We have rang Universal Tax Credits again, pushing for options. They provided us with a telephone number for the 'Benefit Fraud Hotline' part of UC. Perfect. Rang those guys, very helpful. Took all the information about the scam and submitted it to UC with a reference number. We now just have to wait for the benefit fraud team to contact us back, and in the meantime we have to call UC again and give them the ref nunber, which will then put the repayment on hold.
For anyone in the same situation call the Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854 44000 -
I think a more accurate version of this story is that originally the OP's partner knew fine what was going on thinking a bit of easy money but when the larger sum came through then they realised they had made a big mistake. The partner was not scammed, the DWP were.
Nobody gives their NI No, bank details etc to a stranger for cash and thinks there is nothing dodgy going on. And to then go onto .GOV to verify their identity and then transfer money to a stanger? Come on.
I would be careful about involving police or trying to go down the 'it wasn't me route'. Chalk it down to experience and pay back what you stole from the taxpayer, it did get paid into your account.0
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