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Passports: Fraud

Answer

The following table gives figures for attempted frauds detected in passport applications for each of the last five financial years.The measurement of fraud is a complex issue. Historically IPS has counted as fraudulent only those cases which it has been possible to confirm absolutely as fraud. In recent years IPS has been engaged in a programme of work to better understand the nature and level of fraud within the passport application process and the success of existing measures in preventing fraud. This work has established that there were a significant number of cases in which IPS routinely prevents the issue of passports to fraudsters without actually recording those cases as fraudulent.As a result, processes to provide a more accurate measure of IPS performance in countering fraud have been developed and refined. This is the reason for the significant step change in success that IPS is now able to report. IPS currently uses a tiered approach to recording fraudulent applications based on the level of likelihood of fraud. Fraud is now categorised as confirmed fraud, probable fraud and possible fraud.IPS continues to undertake analysis to better understand the fraud perpetrated against it and to more accurately measure and record its performance in this complex but important area.These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.

	Number
2004-05	1,497
2005-06	6,497
2006-07	6,108
2007-08	9,382
2008-09	9,254

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

493 c637W; 276827

Session

2008-09

Subjects

Fraud Passports

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk