press release
False insurance claims rise by 54%, new report reveals
1 March 2010
False insurance claims and identity fraud is on the rise
according to a report by CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service.
The report, FRAUDSCAPE - Depicting the UK’s fraud landscape,
revealed a significant increase in false insurance claims and
identity fraud.
In 2009 there was a 54% increase in the number of false
insurance claims recorded by its members compared to 2008 whilst
identity fraud rose by 74% from 601 cases in 2008 to 1046 cases in
2009. According to the report total fraud rose by nearly 10% in
2009 compared with 2008. There was a 32% in identity fraud overall
with three quarters of the 102,000 identity fraud cases recorded in
2009 being perpetrated online.
The research, conducted amongst CIFAS 265 members, points to the
economic conditions as the main contributory factor in individuals
making false insurance claims. Other reasons include individuals
seeking to avoid finance payments for a car or engaging in identity
fraud as part of a wider staged road accident scam.
Scott Bowers, Head of the Counter Fraud Unit at insurance law
firm Browne Jacobson said:
“The web and other technological developments have opened up a
raft of opportunities for fraudsters such as phishing, ID theft and
skimming.
“As this report suggests, the levels are worryingly high for
some areas of activity.
“Organisatons need to be more alert than ever to the fraud
threat, and need to make greater investments in data analytical
tools to identify suspicious activity.”