…35040 little hours.

Then:

BBC News, 10 October 2001: Tricksters target government scheme

The police are now investigating the abuse of Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs), which offer discounts of up to £200 for adult learners.

…

The Trading Standards Institute, which highlighted the problem, said that it was a “massive scam”, but impossible to know how much money had been taken.

Now:

BBC News, 2 December 2005 : Online tax credit system closed

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) shut down its online portal for the tax credit system late on 1 December after finding a number of fraudulent claims.

…

The problems with fraud in the tax credit system are thought to result from the system’s design, described by some fraud experts as “low-hanging fruit” for scammers.

You know, I sometimes think we should embrace ID cards just to see these clots humiliated all over again. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a again: if these berks were running a bun shop, they’d be bust inside of a week.