Counter-fraud team at Bristol City Council stopped £4m of scams last year

Counter-fraud team at Bristol City Council stopped £4m of scams last year

Bristol City Council’s scam-busters stopped £4million of corruption last year.

The counter-fraud and investigations team unearthed a wide range of attempted cons by a variety of people, including staff, tenants, parents and suppliers, the authority’s audit committee was told.

Tenancy fraud work resulted in 30 ‘positive outcomes’, such as a property recovered or a false application for a tenancy cancelled, between April 1, 2024, to March 31 this year.

A total of £164,000 was recovered in unpaid council tax relating to properties that had been considered empty for more than six months but were in fact occupied.

Weekly payments totalling £3,844 were prevented from being lost to fraudsters, a report to the commit