The last time the words "Duisburg" and "social benefit abuse" were mentioned or written in the same sentence, it was usually about the infamous "White Giant". At the end of October, the city's Citizens' and Public Order Office, together with the police, carried out a registration check in the problem high-rise building in Duisburg's Hochheide district in order to catch social fraudsters and people with illegal residence permits. The operation in the 320-apartment complex from the 1970s caused quite a stir nationwide. The parcel and letter delivery company DHL even suspended its service for months in the summer due to security concerns. The "yellow giant" feared for the safety of its employees when they delivered items there.
MISSIMO - On the trail of organized child benefit abuse
However, the Ruhr metropolis is taking a completely different approach to combating the abuse of social benefits - keyword: MISSIMO. As part of the MISSIMO model developed by the Task Force for Combating Sources of Funding for Organized Crime and Terrorism (Task Force NRW), more than 300 previously identified addresses (including almost 400 registered children) were visited by Duisburg police in spring 2024. The suspicion: organized child benefit abuse. "During the on-site checks, there were doubts at 86 of the addresses as to whether the registered persons were still living there or had ever lived there," explains Lukas Serafin. The police chief superintendent is on duty in the north of Duisburg and was responsible for the measures in this part of the city on one of the control days as a section leader and was himself on the streets in Marxloh and the surrounding area.
For background: MISSIMO (misuse of social benefits in connection with problem properties) is a model developed by the NRW task force based in the Düsseldorf LKA. The task force is in turn an interdepartmental office of the Ministries of the Interior, Justice and Finance. The investigative unit brings together experts from various areas, namely the police, the public prosecutor's office and the tax investigation department. In addition to cooperating in investigations, the experts have set themselves the goal of developing "interdisciplinary approaches to combating the organized abuse of social benefits".
Structured data exchange at municipal level
"Our focus is clearly on preventing unjustified child benefit payments and identifying indicators that point to the unjustified receipt of child benefit," emphasizes Sebastian Goebels, head of the police part of the NRW task force. This task will initially be accomplished with the help of a structured data exchange at local authority level. This involves the relevant local offices, i.e. the family benefits office responsible for paying child benefit, the local district police authority and then the responsible public prosecutor's office and the regional job center. "If there is a justified suspicion, the responsible district police authority will act as part of the administrative assistance for the family benefits office and check the presence or absence of residents at suspicious addresses through on-site checks," explains Lucas Gehling, Managing Director of MISSIMO, the model that was also used in Duisburg.
As all theory is gray, this procedure must be translated into practical processes for use on the street. This includes not only defining ways of getting information from point A to point B, but also providing concrete forms such as sample tables for data delivery, standardized observation and assessment reports, letters to schools, etc. This is classic hardware. Classic hardware that can be used on the street. What seems like another form of excessive German bureaucracy is, however, necessary in order to be successful.
Thanks to this good preparatory work, the Duisburg police, together with their network partners, the Family Benefits Office West and the city's Social Benefits Fraud Unit, were also very successful in their checks. "We almost completely processed the addresses within two weeks. It often took two or three visits to the properties to be checked in order to clarify all outstanding issues," says Lukas Serafin. In the end, 71 children and 49 adults no longer lived there and were therefore deregistered. "By investigating child benefit fraudsters and putting an end to the abuse, we are protecting the working people in our city and the people who legitimately claim benefits," summarizes Duisburg Police Commissioner Alexander Dierselhuis. Final data on the amount of child benefit payments saved (because they have been stopped) should be available soon.
Higher damage prevented
MISSIMO was launched in North Rhine-Westphalia back in 2019 - initially in Krefeld and Gelsenkirchen. After the coronavirus break, Wuppertal was added three years later. Leverkusen, Düren, Solingen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel and Duisburg were launched in 2024. In 2025, properties in other municipalities across the country will be put under the microscope. One thing is clear: the model can only be implemented at a local level under the leadership of the respective cities and municipalities. There is a great deal of interest in the country, but in most cases the effort required from all those involved is just as great. Sebastian Goebels and his colleagues have to provide intensive support for the first runs. "This involves clearing up data protection concerns from different authorities or helping to set up structures for interdisciplinary cooperation within the municipalities in the first place," says public prosecutor Alexandra Ruß, who is responsible for the judicial part of the NRW task force.
Once these structures have been created, they often offer added value beyond the actual MISSIMO work. Jörg Lange, Head of the Social Benefits Fraud Unit at the City of Duisburg, emphasizes: "We have created many new communication channels between the municipal institutions, which are still actively used today." According to him, municipal schools, for example, report their data directly to the family benefits fund.
Those who participate can hope for significant relief for public budgets. In Wuppertal, for example, a six-figure overpayment loss has already been uncovered. It can be assumed that without MISSIMO, a further seven-figure loss would probably have been incurred in the Bergisches Land region. In all cities, evidence was also found of school attendance violations, child neglect and structural defects in the properties visited.
Interest in the MISSIMO model is high
In view of these results, it is not surprising that the MISSIMO model has long attracted a great deal of attention beyond the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia. Sebastian Goebels: "We presented the project in Hesse and Bremen and advised the LKA Berlin on checks with the family insurance fund. Initial contacts have also been made with Baden Württemberg."
The great interest in North Rhine-Westphalia and the rest of the country is often not based on purely "financial" motives. "MISSIMO is particularly important in times when citizens' perceived dissatisfaction with the state is on the rise," says NRW Minister of the Interior Herbert Reul. "Our state must also be able to defend itself against those who want to take advantage of it. If it is, people in our country will also take note of this - a kind of confidence-building measure."
