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Unique Public Sector data for detecting and preventing fraud

The NFI data syndication program is run by Synectics on behalf of the Cabinet Office. It has helped its members save over £1.9Bn since its inception in 1996. Data for the NFI is provided by 1,200 participating organisations from the public and private sectors including local authorities, government departments, private registered providers of social housing (also known as housing associations) and pension schemes.

The datasets are matched and where anomalies are identified they are investigated to determine if they are fraud or error. The appropriate recovery or over-payment plans are then put in place.

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Local Authorities and public sector organisations are focused on protecting the public purse from error and loss. They are constantly trying to increase efficiencies whilst ensuring the right individuals are in receipt of the most appropriate support and benefits. The use of NFI data with analytical tools can help with these challenges. NFI Identified fraud and overpayment errors from 2018 – 2020 of over 26.3M in housing benefits, 17.2M in single person discounts and 4.2M in Council Tax reductions.

The NFI was initially conceived to help public sector bodies but has recently been involved in pilots to look at how it can be used to help detect and prevent fraud in a wider context. A trial was undertaken with the Water Industry to help identify:

  • Those not entitled to discounted tariffs
  • Misrepresentation of void properties
  • Verification of genuine customers
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£3M+

Incorrect void property discounts

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£172K

Non-entitled discounts

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45%

Uplift in the amount of fraud detected

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APPCHECK

Speed up application approvals without compromising your detection and prevention checks.

AppCheck helps to reduce caseloads, and allows your team to focus on the claimants who need extra attention. Information validation can happen before a claimant becomes active saving the cost of expensive post-application investigation and recovery procedures.

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RECHECK

When a claimant’s circumstances change you might not always know. Check your existing records to make sure the right people are in receipt of the correct benefits and services.

You can identify and correct any inaccuracies in your data and recover or make additional payments needed.

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FRAUDHUB

Work with other like-minded public sector bodies to share intelligence and insight to help identify potential fraud and data errors quickly. Modelled on the NFI platform, FraudHub allows members to screen new applicants and existing customers.

FraudHub is available securely online 24/7, so there is no need to wait 2 years for the next National matching exercise.

NFI Datasets

Public Sector Payroll
Housing Benefit Claim Data
Blue Badge Holder Data
Public Sector Housing Rental Data
State Benefit Data
Social Housing Waiting Lists
UK Residents Parking Permits
Concessionary Travel Passes
False Identity Data
UK Council Tax Data
Local Authority Pension Payments
Taxi Licensing Data
Full Electoral Roll Data
Right To Buy
Student Loan Data
Chris Keesing, Anti-Fraud Manager within the City of London Corporation

“The trial of the AppCheck solution was a great success that proved itself very early on by allowing us to identify fraud that would have otherwise potentially not been detected… The solution has proved itself to be a cost effective and positive assurance tool that helps us to protect the public purse.”

Read more
NFI Case study

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