Joint investigation leads to sentence for crash for cash scammer
14 January 2019
Following a joint investigation between the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), the industry and City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), a crash for cash scammer has received a two year suspended sentence and fine for their crimes.
IFED worked closely with the IFB during the investigation after the bureau brought the suspect to their attention. IFB had been communicating with insurers regarding suspected fraudulent claims involving vehicle crashes with similar circumstances, and they were able to link several of them together. It was discovered that the individual had been using the names and addresses of friends, had bought several insurance policies and made a number of fraudulent claims for made up crashes.
Speaking about the result, Stephen Dalton, IFB's Head of Intelligence, commented: "When our insurer members referred this case to us our analysts and investigators were able to uncover a pattern of fraudulent behaviour. This allowed us to link him to more than 20 claims, some of which were made under the names of the suspect’s so-called friends on social media, arousing further suspicion. The fact the fraudster was willing to put their own friends at risk of being complicit in the scam without their knowledge just goes to show how far they were willing to go.
“It’s thanks to the hard work of the insurance industry, IFED and the IFB that we’ve been able to stop this fraudster and ensure that they have seen their day in court. This should serve as fair warning to anyone else considering insurance fraud as a way to make a quick buck.”
