The Audit Commission's crackdown on fraud has detected a record level of fraudulent claims and overpayments – for the fifth year running. A total of £140m in fraud was uncovered for 2006/07 – a 26% increase on the 2004/5 figure of £111m, bringing the total amount of fraud identified by the commission's National Fraud Initiative since it was first launched in 1996 to £450m, with greater use of web technology to check and compare claims in different areas. Michael O'Higgins, chairman of the Audit Commission, said: ‘People are stealing homes, pensions, student loans, parking places and benefits, seemingly confident that no-one is tracking them. They are wrong.'
