Romance fraud: warning over scam that turns victims into insurance cheats | Money
R.Romance scams typically conjure up images of being cheated out of their life savings by partners they meet on dating sites, but some scammers use a different tactic: enticing unsuspecting victims into fake insurance claims.
The scam involves a scammer convincing their partner or intimate partner to say they witnessed a car accident or to take out an insurance policy and file a fraudulent claim to guarantee payment.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), which works for insurers in the UK, says that although a large number of cases were detected last year, some victims are likely not reporting them.
The IFB’s director of intelligence and investigations, Nicola Smith, says this may be because the scam is not focused on directly exploiting the victim for money.
“The general reason this is underreported is shame about the condition,” he says. “But this tactic is also different in that the target is not greatly impacted financially. They are not asked for money. They are asked to use their ID.”
Last year, a man who manipulated women he met on dating sites into taking part in deliberate car crashes was jailed for 20 months at Bournemouth crown court.
Nathan Atkins persuaded women to participate in planned crashes at certain locations. They filed personal injury claims that insurance companies later paid.
Although the impact appears to have little financial impact on the victim, there is a risk of being registered as insurance fraud. This can make it very difficult to get another insurance policy and can affect credit scores.
“What you’re targeting is your identity,” Smith says. “And it’s really important to know that if you’re complicit in this, you’re also committing fraud with them.”
what does it look like
The scammer identifies victims they think they can persuade to become complicit in the fraud, not because they have savings. “You don’t have to have a lot of money to be the target of this scam because all they need is your ID,” Smith says. “What they want is for you to agree to participate in a scam.”
At some point, the victim may be asked to participate in insurance fraud by saying they witnessed an accident; or they were in the car when an accident occurred; or they were injured as a result of an accident.
Often the scammer will give the victim a script to follow or an explanation of what happened. “Could it have been set up to answer a phone call from an insurer asking, ‘Were you a passenger in this car?'” says Smith.
“But ultimately you will be required to lie to the insurer in order to be directly involved in the fraud.”
What should we do
If you meet someone on a dating app who asks you to get involved in something illegal, report them on the app.
Screenshots can be sent to the police and the Fraud Reporting service.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau operates Cheatline. a secret online tool To report fraud.
As with most scams, a sense of urgency is often used by the scammer to get you to act quickly and make decisions you wouldn’t normally make under different circumstances. The IFB says you should offer to contact emergency services if someone needs your help urgently. If they refuse, you should be careful and end any further conversation.
