Romance fraud typically evokes images of people being tricked out of their life savings by partners they meet on dating sites, but some scammers use a different tactic: recruiting unsuspecting victims into fake insurance claims.
The scam involves a fraudster convincing their partner, or a person they are dating, either to say they have witnessed a car accident, or to take out an insurance policy and file a bogus claim in order to secure a payout.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), a UK body working for insurers, says that although a number of cases have been detected over the last year it is likely some victims have not reported incidents.
Nicola Smith, intelligence and investigation manager at the IFB, says this may be because the scam does not centre on directly exploiting the victim for money.
“The generic reason that it might be going under-reported is because of the shame around the situation,” she says. “But also this tactic is different in that the target isn’t being hugely financially impacted. They’re not being asked for money. They’re being asked to use their identity.”
Last year, a man who manipulated women he met on dating sites into taking part in staged car crashes was sentenced at Bournemouth crown court to 20 months’ imprisonment.
Nathan Atkins persuaded the women to take part in planned crashes at specific locations. They then made personal injury claims, which insurers paid out on.
While the impact appears to have little financial effect on the victim, they risk being placed on the insurance fraud register. This can make getting another insurance policy very difficult and affect their credit score.
“What you’re being targeted for is your identity,” says Smith. “And it’s really important to know that if you’re complicitly taking part in this, you are committing fraud along with them.”
What it looks like
The scammer identifies victims they feel they can persuade to be complicit in fraud, rather than because they have savings. “You don’t have to have lots of money to be a target of this scam because all they need is your identity,” says Smith. “What they want from you is your agreement to take part in a scam.”
At some point the victim might be asked to take part in the insurance fraud by saying that they witnessed an accident; or they were in a car when an accident happened; or they were injured as a result of an accident.
Often, the fraudster will give the victim a script or an account of what happened that they should follow. “It could be just being arranged to answer a phone call from an insurer where they were asked ‘Were you a passenger in this car’?” says Smith.
“But ultimately, to be directly involved in the scam, you would be being asked to lie to an insurer.”
What to do
If you meet someone on a dating app who asks you to be involved in anything illegal, then report the person on the app.
Screenshots can be sent to the police and to the service Report Fraud.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau operates Cheatline, a confidential online tool to report fraud.
Like many frauds, a sense of urgency is often used by the scammer to get you to act quickly and make decisions you might normally not do under different circumstances. The IFB says that if someone needs your help urgently, you should offer to contact the emergency services. If they decline, you should be wary and end any further conversation.