0:00:02 > 0:00:05Insurance fraud in the UK has hit epidemic levels.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08It's costing us over £2 billion every year.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12That's almost £6 million every day.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries, even phantom pets.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22The fraudsters are risking more and more to make a quick killing.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26And every year, it's adding over £50 to your insurance bill.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33But insurers are fighting back, exposing 15 fake claims every hour.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Armed with covert surveillance systems...
0:00:35 > 0:00:37That's the subject out of the vehicle.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40..sophisticated data-analysis techniques...
0:00:41 > 0:00:44..and a highly-skilled, dedicated police unit...
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:00:47 > 0:00:49..they're catching the criminals red-handed.
0:00:49 > 0:00:50Just don't lie to us.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53All those conmen, scammers and cheats on the fiddle
0:00:53 > 0:00:58are now caught in the act and claimed and shamed.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Today - a staggering personal injury scam
0:01:08 > 0:01:11that was fuelled by lies and greed.
0:01:11 > 0:01:17Her claim had risen to approximately £740,000.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20An IFED raid develops into a drug bust.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24It's something I've not seen before in nine years of policing.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27And the extraordinary lengths that a mother of three went to
0:01:27 > 0:01:29in order to cash in.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31She forged the signature of the doctor
0:01:31 > 0:01:36and also made a stamp from the surgery to authenticate the policy.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43It's a simple fact of life that accidents do happen.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47But, thanks to insurance policies, in many cases, we are entitled
0:01:47 > 0:01:49to compensation for these unforeseen mishaps.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Local councils see more than their fair share of personal injury claims.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57But Haringey Council know better than most that
0:01:57 > 0:02:01when it comes to compensation, some people are never satisfied.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07In 2008, they received a complaint from local resident, Barbara Fari.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Mrs Fari claimed that she fell over
0:02:10 > 0:02:12whilst she was walking with her granddaughter.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17She claimed that she tripped and she fell and she hurt her knee
0:02:17 > 0:02:21and she said she'd tripped and fallen on a broken paving stone.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23With the level of wear and tear
0:02:23 > 0:02:25that road and pavements are subjected to,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27incidents like this are inevitable,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30so Haringey Council began their usual procedure
0:02:30 > 0:02:32for such a claim and launched an enquiry.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Homes for Haringey didn't dispute the fact that she had fallen,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38that she had suffered injuries.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41And the council, when it investigated that claim,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44found that it had been negligent
0:02:44 > 0:02:47in maintaining that section of pavement.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52So we have a genuine claim for a fall that actually happened.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54And the council have admitted negligence.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Sounds like a textbook case for compensation.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58What could possibly go wrong?
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Her initial claim was for damage to her knee.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The council made an offer,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10which was approximately £7,500
0:03:10 > 0:03:14on the basis that Homes for Haringey's assessment
0:03:14 > 0:03:18of the injuries were that it would've resolved itself
0:03:18 > 0:03:21within a three-to-six month timescale.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25£7,500 for an injured knee seems fair enough.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27But Barbara Fari didn't agree
0:03:27 > 0:03:30and decided to take matters into her own hands.
0:03:31 > 0:03:37She submitted her own medical expert opinion to say
0:03:37 > 0:03:41she was severely incapacitated by the fall
0:03:41 > 0:03:45and the injuries were likely to be ongoing and severe.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50We sent Mrs Fari to our own medical experts,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54who agreed that her injuries were substantial
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and likely to be continuing
0:03:57 > 0:04:02beyond the initial three to six months original prognosis.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06In light of the revised assessment of her injuries,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Barbara Fari submitted a new claim for compensation.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13It's fair to say that the amount she was asking for
0:04:13 > 0:04:15isn't quite what the council were expecting.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Mrs Fari claimed that her quality of life had altered
0:04:20 > 0:04:28so substantially that her claim had risen to approximately £740,000.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33For those of you who aren't mathematically-minded,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35that's almost 100 times the figure
0:04:35 > 0:04:37that Barbara Fari was originally offered.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40But how did she get to such an inflated amount?
0:04:40 > 0:04:44She claimed her husband had to give up his work
0:04:44 > 0:04:48to care for her 24 hours a day.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54She claimed for additional care support beyond her family.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59It was for out-of-pocket expenses for taxis,
0:04:59 > 0:05:04for additional expenses
0:05:04 > 0:05:08as a result of not being able to live her life normally,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11as she claimed to have done before.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16The level of care and assistance that Barbara Fari was claiming for
0:05:16 > 0:05:19was so extensive that Haringey Council began to have serious doubts
0:05:19 > 0:05:22about the legitimacy of her claim.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25So they decided to investigate further.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29We made a decision to put Mrs Fari under surveillance
0:05:29 > 0:05:32to see if what she was claiming
0:05:32 > 0:05:36was actually true in her day-to-day life.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42It was felt that Mrs Fari thought that she was being followed.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47And resorted to using crutches
0:05:47 > 0:05:51and getting support from her family members.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57However, when she felt like she wasn't being followed,
0:05:57 > 0:06:02the crutches were dispensed with and she was able to walk normally,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06including carrying heavy bags of shopping up and down a hill,
0:06:06 > 0:06:10entering the house without difficulty.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14So the surveillance activity in this case, we felt was,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16not only was it justified,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20it supported the Homes for Haringey's case against Mrs Fari.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24With the video evidence clearly showing
0:06:24 > 0:06:26that Barbara Fari's claims were untrue,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29her case for compensation was falling down.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And, as Haringey Council's investigations continued,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35they discovered the severity of her injuries weren't the only thing
0:06:35 > 0:06:39that Mrs Fari had been less than truthful about.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Mrs Fari's original statements made no mention of the fact that
0:06:42 > 0:06:47she had an existing condition of arthritis, which affected her knee.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Both her own medical expert
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and Homes for Haringey's insurers' medical expert
0:06:53 > 0:06:59agreed that they had both been misled by Mrs Fari
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and revised their statements accordingly.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Barbara Fari's case was on dodgy ground
0:07:06 > 0:07:10but she still had one last chance to set the record straight.
0:07:10 > 0:07:17We presented the video surveillance to Mrs Fari and her solicitor
0:07:17 > 0:07:24and invited her to revise her assessment of the £740,000 claim.
0:07:24 > 0:07:30Mrs Fari declined that and so the case went to court.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35So from an original offer of £7,500 for a legitimate claim,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Barbara Fari's greed and fraudulent actions
0:07:38 > 0:07:41landed her in front of the judge in the High Court.
0:07:41 > 0:07:47The judge made an assessment that her injuries were unlikely to continue beyond three months
0:07:47 > 0:07:50and in his opinion
0:07:50 > 0:07:55the claim should have amounted to no more than £1,500,
0:07:55 > 0:08:00as opposed to the £740,000 that she eventually claimed.
0:08:00 > 0:08:07In fact the judge was of the opinion that she wasn't entitled to claim anything.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14But unfortunately for Mrs Fari, that was just the beginning.
0:08:14 > 0:08:20After the judge had said that Mrs Fari had lied to the court and to him,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25Mrs Fari and her husband were found guilty of contempt of court.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Mrs Fari received a three-month custodial prison sentence.
0:08:29 > 0:08:35The judge awarded costs to be paid by Mrs Fari
0:08:35 > 0:08:38to Homes For Haringey of £100,000.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44It's hard to believe that what had begun as a genuine case for compensation
0:08:44 > 0:08:47had spiralled into a landmark legal case
0:08:47 > 0:08:51that sent a clear warning to anyone tempted to exaggerate a personal injury claim.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53We're not an easy target.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58We will investigate any and all cases that we think are made fraudulently
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and we will always seek the heaviest penalty.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Still to come - surprising discoveries...
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Just stumbled on something quite important.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15It will have a big impact on the local community.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17..and a summer holiday scam.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22What set out to be a family holiday in Lanzarote
0:09:22 > 0:09:24had turned into a nightmare for her.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Owning a pet can be an expensive business.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34The good news is that a pet insurance premium
0:09:34 > 0:09:37can cover unforeseen vet bills and even pay out in the event
0:09:37 > 0:09:40that your furry friend is lost or passes away.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44But inevitably, some people have seen these policies
0:09:44 > 0:09:46as a means of pocketing a few quid.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51In 2005, the insurance company Agria dealt with a policyholder
0:09:51 > 0:09:55who, it would turn out, lost pets with staggering regularity.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00The policyholder was a traveller who lived in Scotland
0:10:00 > 0:10:02and part of the complication of the case
0:10:02 > 0:10:06was that he had multiple addresses, so very difficult to pin him down,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09very difficult to tie one address to another.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12The first claims received from this policyholder
0:10:12 > 0:10:14were for two St Bernard puppies.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19They were worth £850 each and they'd just been lost.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Losing a set of keys or a £10 note is one thing
0:10:24 > 0:10:28but to misplace a pair of St Bernard puppies, that really takes some doing.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32With no vet records and a dubious set of circumstances,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Agria had their doubts too.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38It was very suspect.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42We couldn't gather the evidence to prove that the puppies hadn't existed
0:10:42 > 0:10:45or that the policyholder didn't own them
0:10:45 > 0:10:49so the ultimate resolution to that was that we paid the case.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53So that's one claim and one pay-out.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Of course, it may have just been bad luck.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58However less than a year later,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02another claim form landed on Agria's doorstep from the same policyholder.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06This time it was £350 for a poodle puppy that had died
0:11:06 > 0:11:10but once again the details were sketchy at best.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14It had an illness but it hadn't seen a vet so we couldn't establish
0:11:14 > 0:11:17that the animal existed or that the policyholder had owned the animal.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Then when the animal died there wasn't a veterinary certificate
0:11:20 > 0:11:22because the vet hadn't certified it dead.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25With the claim raising so many unanswered questions,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Agria rejected it and didn't pay the policyholder a penny.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33It is possible that the policyholder could have been very unlucky.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38I think with the lack of pushback from them,
0:11:38 > 0:11:43perhaps we made the right call in that instance.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47But this wasn't the last Agria heard from the claimants.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52Just over 18 months later, they received another claim form.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56This time it was an encore of the disappearing dog act,
0:11:56 > 0:12:01except that this one was a pedigree bulldog worth over £2,000.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06The policyholder had set the puppy loose in the back garden,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09come back ten minutes later and the puppy was missing.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11The puppy was actually a year old,
0:12:11 > 0:12:16but that wasn't the only thing about the claim that didn't quite add up.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Quite bizarrely for a year-old animal, it had never seen a vet
0:12:20 > 0:12:23so it had no veterinary records,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27and when the breeder had submitted the purchase receipt,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30surprisingly it had got lost in the post.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Suspicious that the missing bulldog was in fact just a load of bull,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Agria decided to investigate.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39We sent the loss adjusters out.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44They couldn't verify that the puppy had or hadn't been lost
0:12:44 > 0:12:47so on the balance of probabilities we settled the claim.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51So that's three claims and two pay-outs to the same policyholder.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55But just over a year later,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Agria's paths crossed with the claimant once again
0:12:58 > 0:13:01when they spotted something on the paperwork which set alarm bells ringing.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05When the claim form came in, it was from a completely different address,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07a completely different policyholder,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12but on the front of the claim form was one of the addresses
0:13:12 > 0:13:14the previous policyholder had been using
0:13:14 > 0:13:19and that address was given as the address of the breeder of the puppies.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25So instantly with the past history, there were suspicions raised.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30Unsurprisingly, Agria wasted no time in investigating the claim
0:13:30 > 0:13:34but when they visited the owner, they made a rather unusual discovery.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38There was no indication that dogs had ever lived there
0:13:38 > 0:13:40in terms of bowls, in terms of leads,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43in terms of baskets, in terms of dog food.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45So we were highly suspicious.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48After the visit, the owner ceased all communication with Agria
0:13:48 > 0:13:52and with zero evidence that the dogs ever even existed,
0:13:52 > 0:13:53the case was closed.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56So that's four claims and two pay-outs
0:13:56 > 0:13:58but, you've guessed it, that wasn't the last time
0:13:58 > 0:14:03Agria dealt with what had to be the world's unluckiest dog owner.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05In this instance it was a pug puppy
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and the pug puppy had got parvovirus
0:14:08 > 0:14:11so this was a claim for veterinary fees.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15The puppy did subsequently die but initially on the original claim,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18parvovirus is something that the insurance policies
0:14:18 > 0:14:21expect owners to vaccinate the animal against.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26Probably because of the nature of this dog owner, this breeder,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29this dog dealer, he hadn't bothered with the vaccinations.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34So no vaccinated puppy, we declined the claim.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35This time the owner's track record
0:14:35 > 0:14:38of never taking his dogs to the vet had backfired.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Further investigations revealed
0:14:40 > 0:14:45he had another six policies in place ready to make claims on.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Although as far as Agria was concerned, this dog had had its day.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54If people are determined to defraud insurers,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56sometimes they will find a way.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Luckily in this instance, we stopped three cases,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02stopped a potential six others.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05The downside of that was we paid two.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15In January 2012, the police joined the fight against insurance fraud
0:15:15 > 0:15:18by forming an elite squad known as IFED,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25I would say to anyone who is considering committing
0:15:25 > 0:15:29insurance fraud that now this is no longer a crime without consequence
0:15:29 > 0:15:31as it may have been in the past.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34There is a dedicated 40-strong unit known as IFED
0:15:34 > 0:15:39that works 24/7 hunting down insurance fraudsters.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42They've made over 450 arrests
0:15:42 > 0:15:45and saved millions of pounds in fraudulent insurance claims,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48money which ultimately goes back in our pockets.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51From now on, fraudsters need to watch their backs.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54If you are thinking about it, I would think again.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58There's every chance you'll get an IFED detective knocking on your front door.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Police! Don't move. Stay where you are.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05It's 5:30am and a team of IFED officers are on their way
0:16:05 > 0:16:09to give another suspected fraudster one of their unique wake-up calls.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Aman Taylor is heading up today's operation.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17This morning we're going to an address to effect an arrest,
0:16:17 > 0:16:21hopefully of a male who we need to speak to regarding an insurance claim
0:16:21 > 0:16:23for the theft of his tools.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27They've subsequently paid him out £1,000 on the first occasion
0:16:27 > 0:16:30and he's gone on to submit a further three claims
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and they've paid out £3,000 in total.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37It was the multiple claims on the suspect's contents insurance
0:16:37 > 0:16:40that led IFED to suspect foul play.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45What we'll look to do this morning is go in, arrest our suspect,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and search for any items relating to any offence, particularly fraud.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Having arrived at the address, the team prepare to go in.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17We're from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, City of London Police.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19We need to speak to him, all right?
0:17:19 > 0:17:22The person who's answered the door is claiming the suspect is at work
0:17:22 > 0:17:24but IFED officers are a tenacious bunch
0:17:24 > 0:17:28and have persuaded the person at the door to call the suspect.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30He's now on his way home and can look forward
0:17:30 > 0:17:33to a warm welcome from the IFED boys on his return.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38He's at work, working nights. We've just phoned him and he's coming back.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41He'll be back within the hour so we can hopefully speak to him then.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Sure enough, just under an hour later, the suspect arrives home.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56You're under arrest by suspicion of fraud by false representation. You don't have to say anything.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59It may harm your defence if you do not mention something you rely on.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03What we need to do is search inside.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05We're looking for some items in particular.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09We'll speak to you about the items we're looking for inside. What?
0:18:09 > 0:18:12No, we're going to search this property under section 32
0:18:12 > 0:18:14of the Police And Criminal Evidence Act.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18It means we can search for any items that we believe are relevant.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20We can search for any evidence at all under section 32
0:18:20 > 0:18:24in the place you immediately come from, which is your home address.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29With the legalities out of the way, the search gets under way
0:18:29 > 0:18:31but the cameras remain outside.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Aman Taylor from City of London Police.
0:18:39 > 0:18:46Almost an hour later Aman emerges from the property having made an interesting discovery.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52Some receipts there, one for £100, and just some paperwork and his mobile phone.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56We've seized his mobile phone because we believe that any photographs taken of tools
0:18:56 > 0:18:59are more than likely going to be taken on a mobile phone
0:18:59 > 0:19:03so we'll take that back to the police station, download it, download all the data from it,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and then from that we can pick the bones out of it
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and see what information we want from the phone.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12But weeding out documents isn't the only success of the day
0:19:12 > 0:19:16because the team have also unearthed something that the local police
0:19:16 > 0:19:19will be very keen to take a look at.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21One of the DCs has gone out to the shed in the back.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24There's a little outbuilding. We heard whirring from inside
0:19:24 > 0:19:28and our suspect has said that he's growing 50 cannabis plants here.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31What we're doing now is I've called the local police force down
0:19:31 > 0:19:35to assist us with some uniform officers to dismantle it, seize it.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37We'll probably seize all of the plants
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and from that take a specific sample but it will be a crime
0:19:40 > 0:19:43that will be more than likely investigated by the police.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48For Aman and IFED, it's an unusual bonus.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52After all, it isn't every day they arrest a suspected fraudster with green fingers.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56He's quite a sophisticated seller.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00He's obviously taken quite a bit of time to put it together.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05The door is key-coded to get in which is something I haven't seen before
0:20:05 > 0:20:07in nine years of policing.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13As local police units arrive, the cannabis farm is dismantled
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and bagged up as evidence.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17As far as IFED is concerned though, today was all about
0:20:17 > 0:20:20bringing a suspected insurance scammer to justice
0:20:20 > 0:20:23and Aman is happy with the way the raid has gone.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26I think we've got more than enough to look at.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28We won't know until we interview him
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and he's given an account of what he's got to say.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34As the last of the cannabis plants are removed,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Aman reflects on the morning's events.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39It's been a good result, good result all round.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41We stumbled across something that's quite important.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Although not important to our case,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47it will have a big impact on the local community.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Every year, thousands of us Brits
0:20:59 > 0:21:02pack up and head off on our holidays.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04But unforeseen circumstances
0:21:04 > 0:21:07can mean that even the most perfectly planned trip away
0:21:07 > 0:21:09never gets off the ground.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Thanks to travel insurance policies,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15we don't have to be out of pocket when disaster strikes.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Although, in 2013,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20the officers at the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department
0:21:20 > 0:21:23discovered someone who saw these policies
0:21:23 > 0:21:25as a means of lining their pockets.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Joanne Hunt is a case we dealt with last year.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30She was a mother of three children
0:21:30 > 0:21:34and she booked a holiday to Lanzarote.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38She booked this holiday two weeks before the flight,
0:21:38 > 0:21:43and within two days she'd taken out seven policies of insurance
0:21:43 > 0:21:46to ensure her risk against travel.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48A couple of days before she was due to set off,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52one of her children became unwell and she took the child to see her GP.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57And the GP agreed that the child was unwell and would be unfit to travel.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01A child falling sick is one of those things that just can't be helped.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03But with seven insurance policies in place,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Joanne Hunt was able to help herself.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09And that's precisely what she did.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12She made the claim on the policies,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16so the insurance companies sent her the claim forms
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and she made a claim on all seven policies.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25So the holiday cost 1,600 and, had she been paid out on all seven,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29she would have been making about £11,000.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Almost £9,000 profit in the space of a few weeks
0:22:33 > 0:22:34wouldn't have been bad going.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39But fortunately, defrauding insurance companies isn't that easy.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41The fraud was uncovered when the insurance companies,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43they do talk to each other,
0:22:43 > 0:22:48and they communicated that they were all about to pay out on a policy.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51So when they discovered that, they froze the pay-outs
0:22:51 > 0:22:53and referred the case to ourselves.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57With IFED now running the investigation,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Joanne Hunt was brought in for questioning.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Joanne Hunt gave an explanation in interview
0:23:03 > 0:23:06which had to be checked out, so we went to see her GP.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10He confirmed that, yes, he had seen her young daughter
0:23:10 > 0:23:12and she had been unwell.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15The seven claim forms were shown to the GP,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19and whilst he confirmed that he had signed one of the policies,
0:23:19 > 0:23:24he also said that the other six were forgeries of his signature.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28In order to commit this fraud, Joanne Hunt had to forge several documents.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31The first one was the policy of insurance.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35She had to lie on that form to say she hadn't taken out other policies.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38She forged the signature of a doctor
0:23:38 > 0:23:44and also made a stamp from the surgery to authenticate the policy.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47There was never any dispute over the fact that Joanne Hunt's child
0:23:47 > 0:23:49was unfit to travel.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52But because she'd lied and forged documents
0:23:52 > 0:23:54to claim on multiple policies,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58IFED were now dealing with a clear cut case of fraud.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01But of course, Joanne Hunt had what she thought was a fair explanation
0:24:01 > 0:24:03of her actions.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07At the time, I don't think she realised how serious this case was.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11But when she was interviewed at the police station by IFED detectives,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14she tried to explain that the reason
0:24:14 > 0:24:19why she took out seven policies wasn't in order to commit a fraud.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21She thought she'd take out seven policies
0:24:21 > 0:24:25so that when the paperwork arrived, she'd then look at the small print
0:24:25 > 0:24:30and decide which policy she wanted to continue to take out.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33The remaining six she said she was intending to cancel.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35But she didn't.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39And she went on to claim on all seven policies.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Unsurprisingly, IFED didn't buy Joanne's excuses,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45and so she was charged with seven counts of fraud
0:24:45 > 0:24:47by misrepresentation.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49By the time she got to court,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53she realised that the court may not have accepted her excuses,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56and having taken legal advice she pleaded guilty in court.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59She was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence
0:24:59 > 0:25:03and she also received community service and a fine and costs.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08Like so many other scammers, Joanne Hunt had been seduced by greed
0:25:08 > 0:25:10and the prospect of making easy money.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15But she discovered the hard way that fraud is a crime which doesn't pay.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20Joanne Hunt was a young mother, 28 years old, a mother of three children.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24And what set out to be a family holiday in Lanzarote
0:25:24 > 0:25:26turned into a nightmare for her
0:25:26 > 0:25:29and she's lost her good name for life.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Having investigated cases like this for the past two years,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Dom knows full well
0:25:34 > 0:25:37what the consequences of insurance fraud can be.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39I think generally, the fraudsters who commit these crimes,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42they do think it is a faceless crime.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44But in fact every person in the country
0:25:44 > 0:25:46who has a policy of insurance,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50whether it be for travel, whether it be for household, health,
0:25:50 > 0:25:55we are all paying the extra on our policies because of the fraudsters.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59With £2 billion a year lost through insurance fraud,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01companies are doing all they can to fight back.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04But one of the biggest problems they face is that
0:26:04 > 0:26:07lengthy investigations cost time, money and resources,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11which could be devoted to legitimate claims.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13The key to winning this battle is to try and identify
0:26:13 > 0:26:17fraudulent cases as quickly as possible.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20And one of the ways insurers are doing this is by using the likes
0:26:20 > 0:26:23of Sally Griffiths and her team of desktop investigators,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27who are trying to spot dodgy claims over the phone.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30What we are really listening out for is what they say,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32but also how they say it.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Signs of nervousness, hesitation,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37any indication at all that the customer is perhaps buying time
0:26:37 > 0:26:39or being evasive,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42using certain techniques that we call parroting -
0:26:42 > 0:26:45repeating the question back,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48so that we know there's something not quite right.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50They can't answer the question fluidly.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54But the advantages of these techniques don't end there,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56because Sally's team have also managed to identify
0:26:56 > 0:27:00which type of insurance fraudsters think is the easiest target.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04People believe that it is easier to commit travel insurance fraud
0:27:04 > 0:27:06without getting caught.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09And also they believe it's not going to affect their
0:27:09 > 0:27:13no-claims discounts, as it would for a motor or a household claim.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15And believe it or not,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18travel insurance fraud can even be affected by the weather.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22During the summer months we do have an increase in claims
0:27:22 > 0:27:26coming through, as people are obviously going on holiday.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29A particular trend we saw last year involved the nice weather
0:27:29 > 0:27:32that we had in England,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34and we found there was an increase in cancellation claims.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40So it seems that people were cancelling their overseas holidays
0:27:40 > 0:27:42in order to save money on that holiday,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46and then stay at home and enjoy the sunshine here.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49So, for anyone who thinks that conjuring up a bogus claim
0:27:49 > 0:27:51on their holiday insurance could be a nice little earner,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Sally has some words of warning.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59People think that making a false travel insurance claim
0:27:59 > 0:28:01is going to be really easy.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03They can just come on the phone and speak to someone
0:28:03 > 0:28:04and it will all be done and dusted.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08The reality is, if they are speaking to a trained investigator,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11every lie that they say will be picked up on
0:28:11 > 0:28:12and they'll be caught out.