Benefit fraud is committed when a person makes deliberate claims for benefits even when they are not entitled to. A person could do this by presenting false information or by not reporting changes in their living circumstances. For instance, you could provide incorrect information about your household’s income, fail to notify the authorities if another person moves in or out of your house, or even falsely declare disability at work.
To report a potential benefit thief online, the government requires you to fill out a form. What I would have given to be in the meeting where they crafted the options for the dropdown menu. The choices are just out of this world.
For one, the government needs to you to describe the fraudster’s hair. While it is understandable, because it enables easier identification, the choices border on blatant prejudice. People with combovers? Certainly, a fraud risk according to the government. Do they have spikey or spiked hair? That would increase their risk of being a benefit fraud.
What about the person’s build? I love the choices given here. What does a proportionate person look like? And doesn’t heavy overweight, and stocky describe the same person? The government would also like to know whether the person was short or small, which all seem the same to me.
Did you look at the fraudster’s eye color? I bet his eyes were pink? Or ‘unknown’. Did the person who defrauded the government wear contact lenses? The choices are extremely difficult because it would be difficult to report if the person wears contact lenses. How would you even check their eyes for that? The government presumably expects you to peer into their eyes to check whether their eyes have contacts or are pink in color.
