Companies exploiting welfare system by using residents as ‘cash cows,’ BBC finds

• Vulnerable individuals on housing benefit are being targeted by unscrupulous agents through social media, creating safeguarding concerns for patients in precarious housing situations
• Doctors should be alert to signs of exploitation in patients receiving housing benefit, including unusual living arrangements or reports of withheld benefits
• GPs may need to signpost affected patients to local authority housing teams and social services, particularly those with mental health conditions or other vulnerabilities

Agents try to attract people on housing benefit by using social media videos that offer free rooms and holidays.

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