Benefit cheats in Northern Ireland are swindling nearly £77,000 a day and will be hunted down, the British government vowed today.
Even though only a fraction of the huge fraud has been uncovered, Social Development Minister David Hanson warned those caught could be jailed.
Investigators will study bank accounts and other financial records in a bid to detect any unwarranted cash, he pledged.
Mr Hanson said: "There is nothing romantic about doing the double (working while claiming benefit) or fiddling the social security system in any other way.
"This is serious theft and is not socially acceptable. The courts are increasingly recognising this and we have had a number of prison sentences imposed this year.
"Benefit fraud costs around £28 million a year in Northern Ireland and this is money that could be better spent on schools, hospitals or housing."
False claims totalling £688,000 have been detected during 141 successful prosecutions since January. And with more set to go before the courts, the total could pass £1 million by the end of the year.
In one of the latest cases Co Antrim man Wesley Todd, 48, received more than £18,000 worth of Income Support and Carer's Allowance while working.
Todd, of Ballybentragh Road, Muckamore was given a six-month suspended jail sentence at Antrim magistrates' court on Monday.