What is fraud?

Fraud is the term used to describe many offences, including deception, forgery, theft, misappropriation, collusion and giving false information.

This page illustrates some examples of the types of fraud that can be carried out against the against the council and by whom.

If you know of anyone who you believe has carried out fraud against the council please contact us. See how to report fraud.

Types of fraud

Types of fraud include:

• housing benefit, council tax or tenancy fraud
  (fraudulent claims for benefit or gaining council accommodation that someone is not entitled to)
• pre-employment screening fraud
  (people who deceive the council to gain employment for example, by falsifying their qualifications or experience)
• parking services fraud
  (obtaining parking permits dishonestly)
• insurance claims fraud
  (making dishonest insurance claims against the council)
• internal fraud investigations and fraud prevention
  (fraud committed by council employees, members or contractors).

Benefits and tenancy fraud

Benefits and tenancy fraud can include the following:

• residents failing to declare their true income, for example if they have returned to work and continue to claim housing benefit
• attempting to use the Right to Buy scheme to obtain a council home fraudulently, for example a resident fraudulently obtained his Lambeth council property under the Right to Buy scheme when he had already moved to another borough where he was rehoused and had his rent paid by housing benefit
• sub-letting council property to tenants without consent.

Parking fraud

Parking fraud can include:

• persons abusing the disabled parking concessions, fraudulently obtaining a service that they are not entitled to, for example using a disabled badge when they did not have a disabled person with them.

Insurance fraud

Insurance fraud can include:

• persons fraudulently claiming to have been injured tripping over paving slabs or having had their cars damaged by potholes.
• tenants fraudently claiming that their properties have been damaged. We recognise that there are genuine claims, but also wants to tackle the rising number of false claims head-on.

Fraud by council members

Council members could commit fraud by submitting expenses claims for journeys that were not made, overstating expense claims or claiming for allowances for which there was no entitlement.

Fraud by contractors and suppliers

Contractors and suppliers to Lambeth can commit fraud and corruption in a number of ways including:

• submitting invoices and being paid for work that had not been undertaken
• paying bribes to council members and/or employees to obtain a contract to undertake work or supply goods.

Fraud by council staff

Lambeth council's staff and managers can commit fraud and corruption in a number of ways including:

• theft of incoming cash or cheques
• changing purchase orders in order to obtain equipment which they then keep for themselves
• theft of council property including cash
• using the council property for other uses than official purposes and/or supplying information to outsiders for personal gain
• staff working together to award contracts in return for incentives or where friends or family members were awarded contracts
• misuse of official time, for example abusing the council's computer misuse policy
• deceit or misrepresentation for advantage, for example using false references or false qualifications to get a job with the council
• expenses claims for journeys that were not made, overstated claims, claims for allowances for which there was no entitlement, forged signatures authorising payment, forged documentation supporting claims or applications for employment, falsification and/or unauthorised amendments of timesheets, false claims for working unsociable hours.

Fraud by civil society organisations

Civil society organisations can commit fraud and corruption in a number of ways including:

• submitting grant applications for funds with misleading information
• their officers misusing the funds that they have been granted to obtain a personal benefit.