Cash for Fake ID at the DWP
Cash for Fake ID at the DWP
Operation Trident has been launched by the Department for work and pensions to investigate the hundreds of thousands of people who have had their personal details sold on to criminal gangs by civil servants. The details are then used to produce fake identification, and know your customer documentation which can be used to commit benefit fraud.
The theft of personal information amongst civil servants has reached epidemic levels prompting the internal investigation by the Department for Work and Pensions. Civil servants are cooperating with organised criminals to supply personal information for use to commit benefit fraud, produce fake id, and obtain other official documents such as fake passports.
The prime details sought by the criminals are names and national insurance numbers, that can be used to commit create fake identities for use in benefit fraud, of which the most common being tax credit claims.
The investigation follows the widespread concern that poorly paid tax and benefit office staff are "open to temptation". The DWP's own staff it seems are not immune from personal information theft, as many as 13000 staff details were stolen and used in a significant organised theft involving fake identity documentation and over £15m of tax credit benefits.
There has been some admission from ministers that the security of individuals details have been compromised on a significant scale, the figures from the Information Commissioner speak for themselves with over 100,000 offences being recorded in the 4 years to 2004. There have been calls on the government to strictly enforce and increase the penalties to include a prison sentence for stealing personal details and creating fake identities.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies highlighted the extent of deception and fake id abuse with its findings that 2.1 million single parent households claim benefits, whilst best estimates suggest there are a maximum of 1.9 million single parent households in the UK.
Operation Trident Successes, Duo Jailed for 4 years
Following the DWP operation 2 men were jailed in September 09 for four and half years for fraud, fake id production and accessing the records of 2500 benefit claimants and diverting payment claims to network of bank accounts operated by the duo. John Brian Agdomar, 42, used his employment at the DWP to illegally access the read only tax credits system to gain benefit claimants personal information. John Agdomar and his accomplice accomplice Olanekan Omatayo Ogunmekan diverted payments to a complex network of bank accounts they'd created with fake id documents.
The arrests follow a long running operation which has also resulted in the DWP disciplining 6 employees for "inappropriate use" of the customer database system, this was generally accepted as including theft of personal information which could then be passed and used in the production of fake id's such as fake driving licences to facilitate benefit fraud.