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Every move you make
Be afraid. Big Brother is getting even bigger
Official spying is on the march as we bank, pay tax or claim
benefit. But, says Neasa MacErlean, liberty is on the line in the
race to cut crime
Neasa MacErlean
Observer
Sunday June 24, 2001
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4209280,00.html
You do not have to be paranoid to think Big Brother is watching
you. He is. Many arms of the government, other parts of the
establishment and even your friends, family and neighbours are at it.
The monitoring of ordinary people has increased dramatically
over the past decade and is set to become far more widespread again
this year.
Closed-circuit television is spreading rapidly across the roads
network and other public areas; most employers now mount some form of
surveillance on staff, including a watch on emails and telephones;
and a raft of significant changes are tightening the watch on
customers in the financial services sector.
The Department of Work, the Home Office, the Inland Revenue,
Customs & Excise, the Financial Services Authority, police and the
private sector are all beefing up their anti-fraud and surveillance
activities.
While fighting fraud is a primary concern for the Government,
some fear that civil liberties may be sacrificed in the process.
The Financial Services Authority disclosed last March that
'significant control weaknesses' in 15 UK banks had enabled the
former Nigerian President General Sani Abache to launder more than
US$1 billion through Britain.
The public may find it ironic that wealthy criminals can so
easily find a way through the system when most of us are asked to
show a passport or pension book, utility bills and other proof of
residence just to open a simple savings account.
Several new initiatives are being used to increase
surveillance. These include:
. The Social Security Fraud Act, which received royal assent
last month, will give the Department of Work 'powers to require
information from private and public sector organisations about
individuals suspected of benefit fraud'.
Up to 250,000 requests a year are expected to be made of banks
and utility companies, for instance. As the department explains: 'If
a person was claiming Income Support at a particular address and was
con suming no electricity there, this could indicate that he does
not, in fact, live there and that his claim may be fraudulent.'
Similar requests could be made to banks to check for benefit
recipients with large amounts on deposit.
. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, due to start In
November, gives new regulatory powers to the FSA to prosecute, fine
and 'name and shame' banks and other institutions which do not
monitor clients and accounts closely enough for suspicious
transactions.
'There will be a tougher implementation across the whole
industry,' says an FSA spokesman. Several banks are introducing far
more sophis ticated computer systems to monitor customers'
transactions. (See box, opposite.)
'In the past six months, the FSA has told some banks they will
be prosecuted unless they change their procedures,' says Mark Tantam,
a former Serious Fraud Office barrister who now runs the fraud
management unit at accountant Deloitte and Touche.
'We will see a lot more disclosures from banks and other
institutions to the National Criminal Intelligence Service [about
suspect transactions and customers] in future. Banks will want to err
on the side of caution.'
. A new Proceeds of Crime Bill, announced in the Queen's Speech
last week, is expected to make it easier to prosecute negligent bank
staff. 'If the authorities wanted to prosecute staff for turning a
blind eye to suspicious transactions, it would be much easier than
before,' says Steve Lock at Alliance and Leicester, who is its money
laundering reporting officer, a post common to all financial
institutions since 1993.
The bill will make it clear that laundering covers cash from ta
x evasion as well as the proceeds of drug trafficking and other
crimes.
. A call for government departments to share far more
information about individuals is expected from the Cabinet Office's
Performance and Innovation Unit later this summer. In a report called
'Privacy and Data Sharing', the unit will discuss the possible use of
tax and benefits records as well as basic information on passport and
driving licence applications and patient registrations with GPs. The
report could provoke an outcry about civil liberties.
. More money is being put into the NCIS, the police unit which
co-ordinates work against money laundering. Next month, NCIS is
expected to report that 18,000 suspicious transactions were reported
to it in 2000, up nearly 25 per cent on the 14,500 transactions
reported in 1999.
In the past, NCIS was so understaffed that many reports lay
unexamined for months. Now, it is getting more effective and
efficient.
. Government departments already share information on suspect
individuals and businesses. Under the so-called Joint Working
Project, Customs & Excise and the Revenue routinely pool intelligence
and run joint investigations and prosecutions. Information is
exchanged less often with the Home Office, the Work Department and
police, but it can be given if the right procedures are followed.
. A new crime, fraudulent evasion of income tax, was introduced
last January. The Inland Revenue is now hunting down minicab drivers,
people running car boot sales and others who may never declare their
income for tax. The maximum penalties are unlimited fines and prison
sentences of seven years. A Tax and Benefits Confidential Helpline,
on 0845 608 6000 has been set up to help people wanting to sort out
their affairs before they are caught. It received 10,000 calls in its
first four months.
. Since 1996, when self-assessment was introduced for income
tax, the Revenue has been able to launch 'random investigations' into
the affairs of people who send in tax returns.
Akin to the idea of the police stopping drivers without any
suspicion at all, this move caused controversy when it was first
mooted. About 110,000 investigations were launched in 1999/00, of
which about 3,000 were random.
This year, for the first time, tax officials have set a target
for inspectors in non-random investigations: if they have a reason to
investigate, they are expected to find fault in 76 per cent of cases.
. A National Benefits Fraud Hotline has been operating for
almost four years to encourage people to point the finger at friends,
neighbours and acquaintances they suspect of fraud.
About 13,000 calls are received each month, usually alleging
that people are working while claiming benefit, or living with
someone when saying they live alone. As a result, about one case a
day was prosecuted last year.
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