Counter Fraud Service

Herts Investigation Service

We can support you with a broad range of award winning anti-fraud activities.

We can provide you with a bespoke service designed to suit your organisation’s needs.

Our expert team can help you understand your fraud risks, help to prevent fraud occurring and provide a fraud response for allegations, including allegations of bribery, corruption and money laundering through:

full lifecycle investigations and prosecutions
effective risk management
proactive data analytics
24 / 7 confidential fraud reporting systems
counter fraud training for your staff, contractors and partner agencies
regular fraud threat alerts and shared best practice
recovery of financial loss.

Specialist areas

We specialise in counter fraud measures in a large number of areas including:

Blue Badge – from application fraud to misuse and counterfeit badges
care services – for adults and children
commissioning of services – including joint commissioning and third sector partnerships, conflicts of interest and collusion
Council Tax – false claims for discounts and exemptions, as well as fraud against local Council Tax Reduction schemes
cyber-enabled fraud – enables a range of fraud types resulting in diversion of funds, creation of false applications for services and payments
grants – work not carried out, funds diverted, ineligibility not declared, organised attempts to defraud new schemes
housing / tenant – fraudulent applications for housing or homelessness, unlawful sub-letting and abandonment of properties, Right to Buy or success
immigration – dishonest actions to obtain illegal entry to the UK or services that the applicant is not entitled to
insurance fraud – false or exaggerated loss claims for personal injury or damage to property
identity fraud – the use of false identities for financial gain (the identity may belong to another party or fictitious individuals)
money laundering – exposure to suspect transactions
payroll / insider fraud – for example, diverting monies to personal accounts, accepting bribes, false overtime / expense claims, data / asset theft, abuse of position, false references or qualifications, failure to declare secondary employment / interests
procurement and contract – tendering issues, split contracts, double invoicing
schools – procurement fraud, payroll fraud, internal fraud
no recourse to public funds – fraudulent claim of eligibility.

Our team

We are fully trained and accredited to conduct criminal, civil and disciplinary investigations. Our work complies with all required legislation and local policies and procedures.

Our team are members of the Government Counter Fraud Profession, a community of organisations across government protecting public services from fraud. Our knowledge, skills and experience have been assessed to meet the high professional standards and competencies of the profession.

We're an award wining team, having achieved:

Highly Commended in the IRRV’s Excellence in Counter Fraud Awards 2018
winners of ‘Outstanding Partnership’ at the Tackling Economic Crime Awards 2019
winners of ‘Outstanding Professional’ (male category) at the Tackling Economic Crime Awards 2020
finalists in ‘Outstanding Proactive Fraud Detection and Recovery’ in the Public Finance Awards 2022.

Shared Anti Fraud Team standing outside an office

Our leadership team manage a dedicated team of intelligence officers, fraud investigators, financial investigators and data analysts.

Nick Jennings – Head of Service

Nick leads the Shared Anti-Fraud Service. He has worked in public sector counter fraud roles for over 25 years and formed SAFS in 2015. Nick holds the Professionalism in Security qualification and is an Accredited Counter Fraud Manager. Nick has experience of working in counter fraud roles in local and central government, as well as the private sector.

Paula Hornsby – Counter Fraud Manager

Paula is an Accredited Counter Fraud Manager and is a Senior Authorising Officer under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, and a Money Laundering Reporting Officer.

Darren Bowler – Counter Fraud Manager

Darren became part of the SAFS team after a long and successful career in policing. Darren is a SAFS Senior Authorising Officer under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 and a Money Laundering Reporting Officer.

Join the team

We welcome new and experienced fraud professionals.

We value and rely on high quality training and accreditation – if you join the team, one of the following may be funded for your development (depending on role):

Counter Fraud Apprenticeship (Level 4)
Data Analyst Apprenticeship (Level 4)
Accredited Counter Fraud Technician (ACFTech)
Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist (ACFS).

We offer flexible working arrangements – staff can set their own hours, build up flexitime, and work from their preferred location / work remotely.

Check our job vacancies

And we're proud to collaborate with a number of registered housing providers and the following anti-fraud organisations:

Counter Fraud Service

Herts Investigation Service

Specialist areas

Our team

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