A group of men have been caught repairing and selling on expensive cars to unsuspecting customers after they had been written off by the insurance company. They have now been arrested for insurance fraud. Unsuspecting customers bought more than 50 cars from a group of five men from Bradford who claimed that the vehicles had never sustained damage – hiding the fact that they had been in serious crashes and badly repaired. “A large proportion of fraudulent activities involve motor vehi...
It seems not even those who make a living from the law abide by it, as a London law firm employee is caught CV fibbing. Although employee screening should be at the heart of every recruitment process, many business – large and small – fail to carry out basic checks in the bid to save on costs and make a swift hire. One city law firm certainly failed the educational screening test during one recruitment process when it offered a highly paid job to Zakia Sharif without, it would appear...
The dangers of widespread cut-backs and complacency have become apparent as a report highlights a staggering rise in fraud. Both the number and value of reported frauds is now at its highest level in almost a decade, according to BDO’s 2011 Fraud Track report. “The fact that fraud is on the rise comes as no surprise. Unfortunately, however, it seems a growing number of businesses are either unaware of the risk or careless in managing it. That means that fraud cases which would previ...
GPs and other professionals who help insurance fraudsters make false or exaggerated claims are to be targeted by a new anti-fraud initiatives. As part of a nationwide £9million initiative, a specialist unit will be working to identify those who help organised gangs commit acts of fraud. The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) will be run by the City of London Police. Its aim is to seek out criminal networks that work side by side with so-called ‘enablers’; p...
According to AXA Car Insurance, December brings a 40% rise in claims - in particular from fires and vehicle thefts. Unfortunately, as the number of claims rises, so does instances of fraud. Steve Gaywood, head of counter fraud at AXA, said: "Christmas is expensive and it is sad to see the desperate measures people will go to for a bit of extra cash but insurance fraud is really not the answer." Axa's research also found that 44% adults living in the UK expected to be in debt after...
Using covert surveillance to flush out benefit fraudsters and investigate those involved in antisocial behaviour frequently attracts a whole array of ethical and legal dilemmas. But now one local council has been highlighted for getting the balance just right between catching those who break the law while protecting the rights of everyone who adhere to it. Intelligence experts are themselves heavily scrutinised and they are bound by strict legislation. Investigations of benefit fraud and antisoc...
Manchester Crown Court has convicted members of a ‘crash for cash’ gang after a broken down car led them to file a series of bogus insurance claims. Stephen Eatherall and his friends made fraudulent claims for personal injuries and repairs which were the result of a completely made up accident involving Mr Eatherall’s Range Rover. The claims from the group exceeded a staggering £100,000 with one individual receiving more than £30,000 from his insurers. It was a frie...
After an attempt to defraud his insurance company ended up a complete washout, a successful Glasgow surgeon now faces nine months in prison and the prospect of never practicing medicine again. Two days after a his house was flooded when a pipe burst back in January – damaging his and the neighbouring property - 50-year old Ramesh Gupta took out an insurance policy to cover the £25,000 damage. A month later he pretended the accident had only just happened and made a bogus claim. Mr Gu...
Following a failed attempt to defraud £40,000 from his insurance company, 38 year old Nasir Ali has been sentenced to more than a year in prison. Mr Ali lived in Newport with his wife Zeabun Mukhtar. In 2010 he organised a car crash between his Vauxhall Tigra and his friend’s Daewoo in order to make false claims for damages and personal injury. Mr Ali even provided his friend with the details of people who he should claim had been in his car at the time of the accident. However, earl...
As young drivers turn to the internet is search of cheaper policies, organised criminals are carving a niche which is leaving thousands without cover. As many as 20,000 uninsured motorists could already be on the roads after buying fake cover. The scam is the work of ‘ghost brokers’ – organised criminals who target drivers looking for a cheap insurance deal. The City of London police says they are tackling the problem head. This relatively new phenomenon is where fraudsters tar...