Around 9,125 cases of social fraud reported to Belgian govt in 2021: Reports

In 2021, there were 9,125 cases of social fraud reported to the Belgian government’s Contact Point for Fair Competition, a tip-off service for social fraud, according to the data revealed via several reports.

Belgians can report companies and individuals under suspicion for several matters, such as having failed to pay social contributions, taking advantage of Belgium’s benefits systems, exploiting workers, or providing unsafe working environments against Belgian law.

All reports to the contact point have to be made disclosing the full name and information of the complainant. The government does not accept anonymous complaints made against companies or individuals.

However, the tip-off service assures that individuals will never have their identity revealed by the government, even in the case that the complaint goes to court.

More than half of the reports (4,669) made to the complaints line concerned suspected undeclared or illegal employment. The hotline also received 1,890 reports for breaches of health and safety measures.

In 2021, the Belgian government’s fight against social fraud added €342 million to the government budget, according to figures from the Information and Social Research office (SIRS).

The data revealed that the largest source of fraud was from social security contributions. Almost €11 million was recovered from individuals who had failed to pay their contributions.

The contact point received 1,181 complaints about fraud relating to domiciliation, namely undeclared cohabitation or change of address.