Fraud Investigator
| Posting date: | 09 May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £29,500 to £33,979 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National: £29,500; Inner London: £33,979; Outer London: £32,692 - £33,979 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 21 May 2024 |
| Location: | Pontypridd |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 352637/8 |
Summary
This is an exciting opportunity to join a team committed to tackling Fraud encountered through Economic and Serious Organised Crime.
DWP Economic, Serious and Organised Crime (ESOC) Strategy compliments and aligns with the Home Office Strategy, the DWP Fraud, Error and Debt Strategy and the Risk and Intelligence Strategy.
Its objectives are to:
- Maintain a clear and coherent intelligence picture of the threat to inform our investigations, capability development and protect and prevent capabilities.
- Conduct high quality investigations targeted at the highest harm threats leading to judicial outcomes, disruptions and asset recovery.
- Promote our successful operations both internally and externally to deter and prevent further criminality.
- Exploit a range of data sources to identify and respond to threat.
- Engage with stakeholders across DWP, HMG, Law Enforcement and partners to shape policy, operations and capability development.
- Maintain and invest in our capabilities to stay ahead of the threat.
ESOC Threats and Prioritisation involve:
- Modern Slavery/Human Trafficking – Vulnerable people exploited to abuse the benefit system.
- Web Enabled Fraud – UC and other online frauds on an industrial scale.
- Insider Threat – internal abuse of position to facilitate fraud
- Identity Fraud – large scale use of false and hijacked identities to attack the welfare system.
- Organised Economic Crime – large scale abuse of the system including organised criminals setting up fake/shell companies providing false invoices/payslips to claim benefits and payments. .
Additionally, as work streams change and DWP reacts to the changing behaviours in criminal activity, the Economic Serious & Organised Crim (ESOC) investigators must keep pace with modern methods of criminality, this includes the use of crypto currencies to mask monies derived from fraudulent activity.
DWP is the lead agency for tackling economic serious and organised criminality against the welfare system. DWP’s Economic Serious and Organised Crime (ESOC) investigators are part of a National team with geographical representation throughout the UK. We are responsible for, and are committed to detecting, preventing, dismantling and prosecuting organised criminals facilitating benefit offences and abuse. Serious offenders often receive substantial custodial sentences.
The role of ESOC is primarily to investigate fraud in the welfare system perpetuated by organised criminal groups. This mostly involves working across multi law enforcement agencies on high profile and serious fraud operations involving multi suspects in multi-million-pound criminality.
Key Tasks include:
- Working directly to an Officer in Charge (OiC) of a criminal investigation.
- Undertake Interviews Under Caution in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).
- Submit prosecution files in accordance with Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and National File Standard guidance.
- To undertake tasks as directed by an OiC to support the progression of investigations, including, but not exclusively, as listed.
- To research a variety of information/intelligence sources and collate relevant information that will be required for investigation, and evaluate information in accordance with legislation and guidance.
- Complete and approve Requests for Information (RFIs) as required.
- To record, retain and review material collected during the course of the criminal investigation for Disclosure purposes – such as banking information, benefit systems, CCTV footage, statements from witnesses, mobile phone messages, social media conversations and photographs.
- To liaise confidently, promptly and professionally with all internal staff and outside agencies in respect of the work of the team.
- To keep abreast of current, new and proposed legislation relating to criminal investigations.
- To understand the need for a range of interventions, including ‘prevention’, ‘disruption’ and ‘prosecution’ in ESOC investigations.
- To handle sensitive and confidential information appropriately, ensuring all information/evidence is processed in accordance with legislation and guidance.
- To attend Court hearings as directed by the OiC or to assist the OiC.
- To provide statistical information where required on investigations, working with colleagues and/or the OiC.
- To complete Disclosure schedules as advised by the OiC, providing Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with schedules of any unused material and identifying any material that undermines the case for the prosecution or assists the case for the defence.
- To process enquiries/applications in line with established procedures for handling and disclosure of information relevant to Court Proceedings.
- To prepare information for disclosure and disseminate to CPS within agreed timescales.
- To apply initiative and knowledge gained in the handling of complex enquiries.
- To quickly respond to emerging threats by disrupting live attempts to defraud DWP benefit systems.
- Demonstrate a strong commitment to delivering a high standard of service at all times by managing own workload, prioritising to ensure all deadlines are met.
- To be aware of the Unit’s objectives and ensure maintenance of, and adherence to, quality standards, service level agreements and customer requirements, highlighting areas for improvement where appropriate.