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Reports of “ghost broking”, scammers promoting pretend automotive insurance coverage, have risen by 30% during the last 5 years, unique information obtained by Sky News reveals.
Ghost brokers promote false insurance policies to drivers, manipulate info given to real insurance coverage corporations, or take out insurance coverage and cancel it right away. This leaves folks with out legitimate automotive insurance coverage, which is illegitimate.
Wayne Simpson misplaced over £500 to a ghost dealer.
He was searching for low-cost automotive insurance coverage and noticed an commercial on social media for a deal which was half the worth of different corporations.
He purchased the coverage, and it was solely when he tried to make a declare after a crash that he found the reality: “We referred to as up Aviva and so they instructed me there wasn’t a coverage taken out in my identify and that the quantity we had given them was not a quantity they’d use.
“That’s when the dust settles, and you realise it’s been a scam.”
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Wayne Simpson
Aviva was not at fault. Victims are lured in by genuine-looking web sites and are despatched professional-looking invoices.
Mr Simpson acquired insurance coverage paperwork that appeared so actual, they even fooled the police officer on the accident.
“She said, ‘Your car’s not popping up as insured’. Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance documents, showed her the documents and she read through it and said, ‘That’s totally fine’,” he mentioned.
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Police say younger drivers are most definitely to be focused by ghost brokers, partly as a result of they’re usually seeking to scale back their insurance coverage prices.
According to the RAC, virtually half of younger drivers mentioned insurance coverage prices have been a prime concern.
Exclusive information obtained by Sky News from Action Fraud reveals “ghost broking” stories have risen by 30% since 2019.
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Detective Superintendent Tom Hill
Detective Superintendent Tom Hill, head of the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, mentioned social media is behind this improve: “There are limited barriers to entry for social media accounts to be set up so people can take out car insurance and spread the word quite widely.
“Do your analysis and be sure you’re coping with a real dealer or real insurance coverage firm. If the dialog has been moved on to WhatsApp, for instance, alarm bells needs to be ringing”.
In 2024, victims of ghost broking misplaced a mean of £2,206.
Victims lose cash to the rip-off after which should pay extra prices to restore their automobiles after an accident. They may additionally face felony expenses, a superb or licence factors if discovered to be driving and not using a legitimate licence.
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