Identity of the bank accounts targeted in the DWP crackdown on benefit fraud have recently been made clear.
The Department for Work and Pensions will examine bank accounts as part of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill that is presently making its way through the Houses of Commons and Lords in order to determine the amount of money that individuals have and how they are using it.
Concerns have been voiced regarding the potential extent of this practice, though.
Earlier this month, Mel Stride, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions was questioned by Tory MP Nigel Mills regarding how the powers will be used.
According to a report by Wales Online, he was questioned about whether bank accounts of all State Pensioners would be examined.
Lord Bassam further informs that the banking sector was equally concerned about the proposals describing them as overly broad and likely to prejudice disadvantaged consumers.
He adds that When parliamentary time permits, they are still committed to introducing all of the measures listed in the DWP's fraud plan.
The breadth of the DWP's third-party data collection powers is limited to what is necessary to guarantee its future viability.
This is due to the nature of fraud, which has altered significantly in recent times and continues to do so.
The DWP's existing authority is insufficient to combat the new forms of fraud that the assistance system is experiencing.
Viscount Camrose adds that to ensure that benefits like the state pension continue to have low fraud rates, they are including all benefits.
Naturally, the DWP will want to concentrate their action on places where fraud or error is a serious problem.
The DWP has outlined in its fraud plan how it intends to use the new powers, with fraud in universal credit being the first area of attention.
This Cyber News was published on www.cysecurity.news. Publication date: Tue, 02 Jan 2024 16:13:05 +0000