Social security fraud: a record 450 million euros detected in 2024, up 20% in one year, according to family allowance funds

In one year, the National Family Allowance Fund (CNAF) has recorded a 20% increase in fraud, according to its boss Nicolas Grivel, in an interview with "La Tribune Dimanche," information confirmed by franceinfo.

Family allowance funds detected €450 million in fraud in 2024, a 20% increase in one year. The figure was revealed by the head of the French National Insurance Fund (CNAF), Nicolas Grivel, in an interview with La Tribune on Sunday , information confirmed by franceinfo. This record, according to the National Family Allowance Fund, is due to the 30 million checks carried out by cross-referencing files with other administrations, such as France Travail, Urssaf (French social security agency), and the tax authorities. It is also the result of the work of dedicated investigators, police officers, former bankers, and engineers. This dedicated team works much more directly with prosecutors and the courts to ensure nothing is overlooked.

Social security fraud has become more complex and more organized. While there are still beneficiaries who forget to declare part of their income in order to receive more benefits, the administration is now facing veritable networks that hack into bank accounts or steal identities, sometimes operating from abroad. This complicates the possibility of recovering the money. Because when it comes to individual cases, the CAF recovers the amounts owed by deducting them from subsequent payments. It thus records an 80% recovery rate. However, the networks themselves disappear as soon as they are detected.

As the government seeks an additional 40 billion euros to complete its next budget, it intends to be unyielding in its efforts to track down the scammers and recover the money. The head of the CNAF, Nicolas Grivel reminds us that social security fraud is estimated at around 12 billion euros per year, much less than the estimated 100 billion euros from tax fraud.