Benefit Fraud

We can only deal with reports of Benefit Fraud in the Isle of Man. If you live in the United Kingdom you should visit the UK Department for Work and Pensions website.

What is the extent of benefit fraud?

Most people who claim benefits are honest. Unfortunately, there are others who are not and are receiving money which they are not entitled to. In recent years over £600,000 per annum in benefit savings and benefit overpayments have been identified. However, additional benefit fraud will unfortunately exist in the Island that the Department is unaware of, this is where you can help.

What do I do if I think someone is committing benefit fraud?

You can tell us about this in 2 ways;

Call our benefit fraud hotline:

0808 1624043 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

When you call this number you will be asked for information about the person you think is committing fraud, including the type of fraud, their personal details, their appearance and whether they have a partner who is also committing fraud. It does not matter if you don't know all this information, any details you can supply may be helpful.

Use our online fraud reporting form.

This is a detailed form and again you do not need to know everything it asks you, just fill in as much as you can. The form is sent by email to our fraud investigation section who will then make enquiries based on the information you have supplied. Your details will not be revealed to the person you suspect of committing fraud. We will treat all the information you supply in complete confidence.

What will happen if I report someone for benefit fraud?

You may occasionally see reports in the local press concerning the successful prosecution of benefit fraud offenders. However, for reasons of confidentiality we cannot give you any feedback on specific cases after you make a report. If we think fraud has been committed we take this very seriously. It is something that affects all of us. If the Department could make further savings by identifying more fraud, those savings could be used elsewhere. Benefit fraud can result in criminal prosecution and in extreme cases a custodial sentence. In most other cases the person will be required to pay back the money they have fraudulently claimed.

Complete our online fraud reporting form.