0:00:02 > 0:00:05Insurance fraud in the UK has hit epidemic levels.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09It's costing us over £2 billion every year.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11That'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 bills.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30But insurers are fighting back,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32exposing 15 fake claims every hour.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37- Armed with covert surveillance systems...- Subject out of vehicle.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40..sophisticated data analysis techniques
0:00:40 > 0:00:44and a highly skilled dedicated police unit...
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:00:47 > 0:00:50- ..they're catching the criminals red-handed.- Just don't lie to us.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52All those conmen, scammers
0:00:52 > 0:00:57and cheats on the fiddle are now caught in the act
0:00:57 > 0:00:58and Claimed And Shamed.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Today, the pedestrian who forgot her green cross code
0:01:10 > 0:01:11and tried to cash in on it.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15She looked both ways? No, that's not true at all.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17The police's insurance fraud enforcement department
0:01:17 > 0:01:21catch a suspected fraudster with his trousers down.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I've no pants on. Do you want me to get dressed?
0:01:25 > 0:01:28And the jaw-dropping lengths that one woman went to in her bid
0:01:28 > 0:01:31to scam insurance companies.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34In my two and a half years in charge of IFED, this is the most
0:01:34 > 0:01:38despicable and shocking case I've come across by some distance.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Nowadays, we're bombarded by adverts from claims management
0:01:45 > 0:01:48companies telling us that we could be owed a small fortune,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51in the event of an accident.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55This has led to a boom in claims for personal injuries.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58And while many of these are legitimate, some are not.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03I think that some people are under the misguided conception that
0:02:03 > 0:02:07wherever there's an incident, then there is a claim to be made.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08That's not true at all.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11In order to be successful in a claim in this country,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14you've got to prove that someone was negligent.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17But proving negligence isn't as easy as some people think.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21And public transport operator First Group find themselves
0:02:21 > 0:02:24battling dubious claims on a weekly basis.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27One particular incident which raised such a claim
0:02:27 > 0:02:31occurred on a busy bus route in Central London.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35We have a woman alleging that she's looked left and right,
0:02:35 > 0:02:40she's seen no traffic coming, so she's assumed it's safe to cross,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43she's stepped out and the bus has hit her.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48A pedestrian versus a bus is only ever going to have one winner.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Now, as any youngster with good road sense will tell you,
0:02:51 > 0:02:56before crossing the road, it's vital that you stop, look both ways,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59listen, and look again.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02And although the pedestrian in this case claims
0:03:02 > 0:03:06she did exactly that, First Group weren't so sure.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09The one thing that would suggest that's not true is
0:03:09 > 0:03:12if you look right, you would see a 15 tonne bus coming towards you
0:03:12 > 0:03:16and you should be able to, therefore, stop and not get run over.
0:03:16 > 0:03:17Historically,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21cases like this would be one person's word against another,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23but thanks to modern technology,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26it's becoming easier to find out what really happened.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27She's given her version of events,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30the driver will give his version of events.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34The one factual piece of evidence we have is the CCTV footage itself.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36The camera doesn't lie.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38It shows a true picture of what actually happened
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and it's an invaluable source of evidence.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Most buses have at least ten CCTV cameras.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47And although they're primarily used for passenger and driver safety,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51they can also be very handy when it comes to settling claims like this.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54When we've looked at the CCTV footage,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57we're expecting to see a woman stepping out from between two
0:03:57 > 0:03:59vehicles, having looked both ways,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03and stepping out just not having seen the bus for some reason.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07It sounds reasonable enough, but is it what really happened?
0:04:07 > 0:04:12You'll see the lady suddenly appear from between the two vehicles.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15She doesn't look, she just looks left, steps out.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17There's no attempt to look right.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The woman steps out between a stationary sightseeing bus
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and a trailer. The double decker is so large,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26she can't see the other bus coming her way.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29And to make matters worse, she doesn't even look.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32If you're going to step out from between two vehicles,
0:04:32 > 0:04:34your view's going to be very poor.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36You need to make sure that you can see what's coming before you
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- step out. - The driver has no time to react.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43And, as quick as he is on the brakes, the woman is
0:04:43 > 0:04:46hit by the front corner of the bus, throwing her up in the air.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50There is no way he's going to avoid hitting her when she steps out
0:04:50 > 0:04:54when the bus is that close and the footage shows exactly that.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58From the driver's perspective, it looks like a devastating blow.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01But the multiple cameras positioned at various points on the bus
0:05:01 > 0:05:05give a clear picture of exactly how severe the collision was
0:05:05 > 0:05:07and what happened next.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11You can see the force of the impact has driven her to the ground
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and she's rolled underneath the flatbed truck,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16but she's out and up pretty quickly.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18As severe as the impact looked,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21thankfully the woman wasn't seriously hurt.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22But it wasn't long before
0:05:22 > 0:05:25First Group received a claim for her injuries.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29The injuries that were subsequently claimed for compensation from us
0:05:29 > 0:05:32were probably more to do with her hitting the ground than
0:05:32 > 0:05:34actually the impact with the bus itself.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36She's got some minor cuts and bruises,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40the ever present whiplash claim, she's got an injury to her knee,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44which has necessitated her having to use crutches for up to six weeks.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Some nine months after the accident,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49she's still suffering from her injuries.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Incidents like this are nothing new and First Group find
0:05:52 > 0:05:56themselves dealing with claims like this on a weekly basis.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58In light of the advertising that goes on today
0:05:58 > 0:06:01and it's made quite clear how much you can get from a simple slip
0:06:01 > 0:06:03or a trip or a fall at work,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06it's probably reasonable to assume that this lady may have assumed
0:06:06 > 0:06:09she could get £3-3,500 for this accident,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12so you could argue - why wouldn't she put the claim in?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15I would say because it's an out-and-out lie, to be honest,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17but that's just my opinion.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20It may sound harsh, but it's important to remember that the
0:06:20 > 0:06:23woman alleged to have looked both ways.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26And is claiming that any negligence lies with the driver.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Such allegations mean that in cases like this,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32it isn't just the injured parties who can be the victims.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37What happens to the drivers that are confronted with these things on a daily basis?
0:06:37 > 0:06:39I watched the CCTV footage back on this one, you can
0:06:39 > 0:06:44see the horror and the general anguish in the driver's face.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47He just looks horrified that this has happened
0:06:47 > 0:06:51and these sorts of things, when drivers are confronted with these sorts of situations,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55this wasn't even a serious injury, had it been more serious,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58some of the drivers can walk away with serious emotional scars, it can
0:06:58 > 0:07:01affect their confidence, the way they drive,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and it can have a big knock-on effect.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Although this case was a genuine accident,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11the woman tried to exaggerate her claim, but there are some people out
0:07:11 > 0:07:16there who will create an accident with the sole purpose of cashing in.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Someone who has first-hand experience of this despicable
0:07:19 > 0:07:22crime is bus driver Maxine Wild,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25who found herself at the centre of a number of fraudulent claims
0:07:25 > 0:07:29after a motorist deliberately collided with her bus.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31I love my job.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34I really do and I want to keep on doing it.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39But when this incident happened, I thought, "That's it.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43"I've finally found my dream job after 30 years of looking
0:07:43 > 0:07:46"and it's going to be taken away from me."
0:07:46 > 0:07:51I were a little bit unsure of whether I'd still have a
0:07:51 > 0:07:53job at the end of it all.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57They think it's victimless, but it isn't.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59They don't care if I'm unemployed.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04They don't care if I have sleepless nights.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Thanks to CCTV footage, Maxine's case was thrown out.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11But what about our pedestrian who appeared to forget her green
0:08:11 > 0:08:15cross code and then exaggerated her claim?
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Armed with video evidence of the whole incident, First Group
0:08:18 > 0:08:22felt they had a watertight case against the woman's claims.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Upon viewing the CCTV footage in this particular case,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28we then revisited the lady's statement.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31she's trying to cross the road, that's true.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35She's been hit by a bus, this is also true. She's looked both ways?
0:08:35 > 0:08:40No, that's not true at all. And the footage clearly shows she hasn't,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44so we've gone back to her solicitors and we've said, "The statement given
0:08:44 > 0:08:48"by your client just doesn't match up with what's on the CCTV footage.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51"Here's a copy. Tell us what you think." We haven't heard since.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Given the video evidence,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56it's hardly surprising that this case has stalled.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And Lee is keen to point out that injured parties are only
0:08:59 > 0:09:03entitled to compensation when they are not at fault.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06The customer care side of First Group, which I'm involved in,
0:09:06 > 0:09:11very much just want to deal with the genuine claims as quickly as
0:09:11 > 0:09:14possible and for the right amount and that's what we're really there for.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18When we have incidents like this, it slows procedures down cos
0:09:18 > 0:09:21we have to investigate claims that are not genuine.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22Her statement was not true.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26And although I feel sorry for anyone that's been hit by a bus,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30regardless of how it's happened, it doesn't mean that we're just going to keel over
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and pay every single claim because we can only really pay
0:09:33 > 0:09:36cases where we are negligent and in this case, it's just not.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40So, if there's a lesson to be learned from a case like this,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42it's that when there's no blame, there's no claim.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Still to come, an insurance company turns the tables
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and reclaims what's rightfully theirs.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58He's got no idea that we're coming to recover the vehicle today,
0:09:58 > 0:10:03which is our weapon, if you like, the element of surprise.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07And one of the most shocking cases that IFED has ever dealt with.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11It was one fraud after another fraud after another fraud.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18When insurance fraud hit an all-time high,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21the City of London Police decided that enough was enough
0:10:21 > 0:10:25and formed a specialist unit with the sole aim of tackling
0:10:25 > 0:10:27the fraudsters head on.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30IFED is a dedicated team that deals with insurance fraud.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Whatever insurance policy there is out there, we investigate it.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:10:39 > 0:10:43It's 6:45am and this team of IFED officers are heading up north
0:10:43 > 0:10:47to investigate a suspected case of car insurance fraud.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Aman Taylor is heading up the operation.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56We're hoping to find any computer equipment or any documentation
0:10:56 > 0:11:00which we can use as evidence later, once we get to the interview stage.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04It's going to be slightly more difficult than dealing with
0:11:04 > 0:11:08a standard case. He's gone to lengths to cover up his tracks.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13Every raid has its own risks and obstacles and today is no exception.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16The property itself, we've looked at from research,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19we believe to be a big enough property that it's going to
0:11:19 > 0:11:23take a few of us to secure the property.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25That's why we've got uniform to assist us
0:11:25 > 0:11:29with securing the property and the person once we arrive there.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33When the team arrive at the location, the property is
0:11:33 > 0:11:36so large that Aman does a quick reccie to find the door.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39I think this may be the property.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42- I'm just going to have a quick look at the driveway.- OK.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46As the building is unlit and pretty large,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49it takes the team a few moments to work out the layout.
0:11:53 > 0:11:54Pardon?
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Oh.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01But nothing deters the IFED team, and soon they're at the front door,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04ready to give their suspect an early morning wake-up.
0:12:06 > 0:12:07Yeah.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12The team are in, although unsurprisingly,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15not everyone is particularly pleased to see them.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Oh, dearie me, I can't believe this.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20I've never had owt like this in my bloody life!
0:12:20 > 0:12:23After a dressing-down by a surprised family member,
0:12:23 > 0:12:24Aman arrests the suspect
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and explains the implications this will have on his privacy
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Do I need to get dressed?
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Yeah, what I will do, because you are now under arrest,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36- what I'll ask is that... - Have you arrested him?- Yes.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40A uniformed officer will stay with you, just while you get dressed.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- Well, I've no pants on.- I know, he's not going to stand there
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and watch, but he's got to be with you while you're under arrest
0:12:45 > 0:12:47- because you are under arrest. - Yeah, that's fine.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48I'll go and get dressed.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Once arrested, you are never out of sight of the police officers,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56regardless of what you are - or are not - wearing, and it's not uncommon
0:12:56 > 0:12:59for suspects to try to destroy incriminating evidence.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Meanwhile, DI Dom Parkin explains to the suspect's family
0:13:04 > 0:13:08that their cooperation could make the process a lot easier.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Rather than us searching the house from top to bottom,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14we would say to him, "We are here to search for documentation
0:13:14 > 0:13:16"for the insurance claim."
0:13:16 > 0:13:20If you want to show us the drawer where it is, and we're satisfied
0:13:20 > 0:13:24that that's what we need, then that may conclude our search.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- But if he says, "Search the house", then we'll search the house.- OK.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Keen not to have the entire house searched, the suspect agrees to show
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Aman and the team where he keeps the documentation they are after.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Do you want me to go get it for you? Do you want me to come with you?
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Yeah, if you can show us where we're going, is it within this house?
0:13:44 > 0:13:46No, it's outside. There's nothing in this house.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49We'll come with you to the office, you can show us where the office is.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53The suspect is giving his full cooperation, and is claiming
0:13:53 > 0:13:57to have all of the information Aman needs in one briefcase.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03But of course, IFED never take what suspects say at face value,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07and there is absolutely zero chance of them leaving it at that.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09So everything business-related would be in this office?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11And that is your work computer there?
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Yeah, if you have to take the work computer, that's fine.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18'So far, we've located our subject'
0:14:18 > 0:14:21so we'll be looking at completing our search,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24seizing what we need to seize, and then taking... to be interviewed.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I'll put that down as 80/02.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32To be sure of building the strongest case possible,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35the team are seizing anything that could provide
0:14:35 > 0:14:36the evidence they need.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39We'll take these, and then there is a possibility that
0:14:39 > 0:14:42we might even have a trace of him producing a document on Word.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47But computers and laptops aren't the only things that can leave
0:14:47 > 0:14:48an incriminating trail.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53What we can do with the phones is, we can download the data from them.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55We can get any text messages, phone calls,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59anything like that that's relevant from the phones themselves.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Before leaving, the office is given a final sweep
0:15:05 > 0:15:08for any more evidence that might help secure a conviction.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15- Looks like it's daylight. - It was dark when we got in.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Several hours after arriving, the search is complete,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22but for Aman and his team, this is just the beginning.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25The good news, though, is that things are looking promising.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Now we go back to the police station,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31refer back to the exhibits that we've seized, and we can then
0:15:31 > 0:15:34use them for interview once we've got him back at the police station.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47As anyone who drives a car knows,
0:15:47 > 0:15:49being without it can be a real pain in the neck,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51so in the event of a crash,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54a complimentary hire car can be a real life-saver,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56and thanks to legislation,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59it's something that insurance policyholders can take advantage of.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01The industry works in that,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05if somebody has an accident in a car and it's not their fault,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08they are entitled in law to a replacement like-for-like car,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11so if, for example, you have an estate car
0:16:11 > 0:16:14where you need to put a dog in the back, a pet or a pushchair,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17you're entitled to a replacement like-for-like car.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Sounds great, doesn't it?
0:16:19 > 0:16:21But of course, the idea of a free set of wheels
0:16:21 > 0:16:23also appeals to fraudsters.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27After all, why pay for your own when you can use someone else's?
0:16:29 > 0:16:33To combat this threat, insurance companies have dedicated teams
0:16:33 > 0:16:36tasked with keeping a watchful eye on their hire cars.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41Neil Thomas heads up the Asset Protection Unit at Accident Exchange.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45We have about 3,000 vehicles, mainly prestige vehicles.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48It's our responsibility to make sure those vehicles,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51when they're out on hire, are fully protected,
0:16:51 > 0:16:56are being used effectively, they're not getting involved in things we don't want them getting involved in,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59so we're really in charge of making sure the assets are safe
0:16:59 > 0:17:03and making sure people don't disappear with very valuable cars.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Sadly, sometimes cars do go missing,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10which is exactly what happened when one of Accident Exchange's customers
0:17:10 > 0:17:13submitted a claim for crash damage to his pride and joy.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17We replaced his car, which is an Aston Martin,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21with one of our Bentley cars, which is a Bentley GT Continental,
0:17:21 > 0:17:22which is around the same value.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25So far so good,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28but when Accident Exchange began to investigate the claim,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32they soon discovered something a little odd.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35The collision was between an Aston Martin and a third-party vehicle.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40Our enquiries revealed that the client owned both vehicles,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42so he potentially staged an accident.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46This aroused our suspicions to say it's probably a fraudulent claim.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51An investigation revealed the accident had been staged,
0:17:51 > 0:17:52but strangely enough,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55it was at this time that the policyholder went off the radar.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59After several months of unsuccessfully trying to contact him
0:17:59 > 0:18:01the Asset Protection Unit resorted
0:18:01 > 0:18:04to what's known in the trade as a snatchback.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Doing a snatchback, so getting a car back from a client,
0:18:07 > 0:18:08is the last resort for us.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13As the name suggests, a snatchback
0:18:13 > 0:18:16is where the rightful owners of the vehicle use a spare set of keys
0:18:16 > 0:18:20to take it back, but doing so can be a risky business.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24It was a rural location, out in the country, a nice house.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26We went quite early in the morning,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28which is probably the best time to go.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31The interesting thing for our guys that turned up
0:18:31 > 0:18:35was that there was a rather large Rottweiler, and it was all fenced off
0:18:35 > 0:18:37so we couldn't actually gain access to the property,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41but the Rottweiler certainly woke us up that time of the morning.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44The guard dog may have added a bit of bite to proceedings,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48but it didn't stop the team from reclaiming the Bentley.
0:18:48 > 0:18:49This particular case went to court
0:18:49 > 0:18:52because we could prove that it was a staged accident,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54the guy that owned the Aston Martin
0:18:54 > 0:18:57had breached the terms of his conditions, the contract,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01so we needed to take him to court to recover our costs.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02For his troubles,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06the policyholder was ordered to repay costs totalling £50,000.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14But cases like this are becoming increasingly common
0:19:14 > 0:19:17and today the Asset Protection Unit are on their way
0:19:17 > 0:19:18to carry out another snatchback.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25It's early morning, and Ian and Tony are a long way from home.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28They've been on the road for almost four hours,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31but are now just minutes away from the location.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34He's got no idea that we're coming to recover the vehicle today,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38which is our weapon, if you like, the element of surprise.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41They might be the rightful owners,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44but snatching cars can still be a hazardous business.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47My concern is to, at all costs, avoid confrontation.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49- SATNAV:- After first exit, go right.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53You can never account for what might happen once you get there.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57But an irate customer isn't the only thing the guys need to worry about.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59In the past, it has happened that
0:19:59 > 0:20:03although the client has obtained the vehicle fraudulently,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05he will report it stolen,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08and there have been incidents in the past where we've actually
0:20:08 > 0:20:09been pulled up by the police
0:20:09 > 0:20:14and they've thought that we've stolen the vehicle, when in actual fact
0:20:14 > 0:20:17we're the lawful owners and we're just recovering our property.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22To avoid any confusion today,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26Ian and Tony have alerted the local police about what they are doing.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28The vehicle should be up here somewhere.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33We're just having to look and identify
0:20:33 > 0:20:35if we can see any grey Vauxhall insignias.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40They're closely parked together, aren't they?
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Hope I can get it out if it's here.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48There you are, this is it.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52- That's it.- Right. OK.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Having found the car, Ian has to act quickly. There is no room for error.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03And now definitely isn't the time for stalling it.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06ENGINE STARTS
0:21:10 > 0:21:12The guys are safely away.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15We've got the vehicle. It appears undamaged at the moment.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Ian and Tony pull into a garage to give the car a quick once-over
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and check there isn't anything illegal on board.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25No.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29There's a lot of property in there, isn't there?
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Apart from a load of junk on the back seat, the car appears to be OK.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Our priority now is to get the vehicle back to Birmingham as soon as possible.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40We'll try and make contact with the client, just to let him know that we
0:21:40 > 0:21:44have recovered the vehicle and we're sending his property back to him.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47I'm sure it won't be the last one that we'll be doing,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49but, yeah, a very successful mission.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Just two weeks after its inception,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00IFED dealt with a case that would eventually highlight
0:22:00 > 0:22:03the shocking depths that some fraudsters would sink to.
0:22:03 > 0:22:04The initial report was of
0:22:04 > 0:22:06a young woman called Emma Fisher
0:22:06 > 0:22:10who was suspected of submitting fraudulent insurance claims.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14DC Alex Cooley headed up the investigation.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18We went up to Walsall and Emma Fisher was arrested
0:22:18 > 0:22:24in relation to seven fake household contents insurance claims.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Time and time again, she was claiming for the same items.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32But she told us at that stage
0:22:32 > 0:22:35that the frauds were limited to a total of seven.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39Even after two years of operations and 450 arrests,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42head of IFED David Wood can still clearly remember
0:22:42 > 0:22:45the sequence of events that surrounded Emma Fisher.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48We hoped that encounter with the police
0:22:48 > 0:22:50and with IFED would be
0:22:50 > 0:22:52her one and only dealings with us.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54We were sadly mistaken.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59Three months later, IFED were dealing with a number of suspected
0:22:59 > 0:23:03fraudulent claims when they noticed a familiar name on the case notes.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06This time we could see the extent of her offending,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08it was over a long period of time.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11It was quite systematic and well thought out.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14It was different to the offending we had seen before.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18It was clear that IFED were dealing with a serial fraudster.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20But what was disturbing
0:23:20 > 0:23:22were the lengths that Emma Fisher was prepared to go to
0:23:22 > 0:23:24in the hope of cashing in.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28For starters, there were multiple claims on pet insurance policies,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31some of which were for dogs that didn't even exist.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Emma Fisher was typically claiming
0:23:34 > 0:23:36that she had purchased a new chihuahua
0:23:36 > 0:23:41and that chihuahua had subsequently either been stolen
0:23:41 > 0:23:43or it had gone astray.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48She would substantiate that with e-mails
0:23:48 > 0:23:50pretending to be a pet breeder,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53to prove the original purchase of the dogs.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55She was quite imaginative.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59The claim was generally for the entire price of a replacement dog.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02But IFED soon discovered that claiming an phantom pooches
0:24:02 > 0:24:04was just the tip of the iceberg,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07because when it came to Emma Fisher and fake claims,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09no insurer was safe.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11She moved into mobile phone insurance,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15where she claimed that she was mugged and she'd lost her mobile phone.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22She pretended that she had been defrauded on her bank account,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25typically claiming that, again, she had been robbed,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and that her card had been misused.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33She also got involved in a couple of more specialist lines of insurance,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36including, for example, income protection insurance,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40where she claimed she'd had a job, which was a lie,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and that she had subsequently been made unemployed
0:24:44 > 0:24:48and she was claiming for an indemnity to cover her lost earnings.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Defrauding insurance companies for a bit of cash with phantom pets
0:24:52 > 0:24:54and made-up muggings is one thing,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58but IFED's investigation soon highlighted that Emma Fisher was
0:24:58 > 0:25:00anything but an average fraudster.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04In fact, she had even used false claims to bag herself a house
0:25:04 > 0:25:07adapted for a disabled person.
0:25:07 > 0:25:08That's right - a house.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12In order to obtain the disabled-adapted house,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Emma Fisher sent an e-mail to the Housing Authority
0:25:15 > 0:25:20pretending to be a doctor. The doctor had the fake name of Mr Ahmed.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Mr Ahmed, in this supposed e-mail,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25was saying how Emma Fisher was suffering from terminal cancer
0:25:25 > 0:25:28and needed use of a wheelchair
0:25:28 > 0:25:33and in the same claim, Emma Fisher also pretended to be a social worker
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and e-mailed claiming that
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Emma Fisher had been the victim of domestic violence.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43With no moral scruples, Emma Fisher even claimed she had cancer.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47In fact, there were no depths that she wouldn't stoop to.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51Not only did she get the disabled-adapted house under false
0:25:51 > 0:25:56pretences, but within the first couple of weeks of her tenancy,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00she made a false public liability claim against the housing group,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04and what she did was, she pretended she had fallen over some debris
0:26:04 > 0:26:08in the garden which she alleged had been left by the Housing Authority.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11In fact, on that occasion,
0:26:11 > 0:26:16she had taken an image of a bruised leg from Google and submitted it
0:26:16 > 0:26:18as evidence of her own false injury.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22And as part of that claim, Emma Fisher alleged that
0:26:22 > 0:26:25she had suffered a miscarriage as a result of the fall,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27which is extremely serious,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and, again, turned out to be totally untrue.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35It became clear just how manipulative Emma Fisher was prepared to be.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38It obviously meant that in my investigation,
0:26:38 > 0:26:43I had to take everything she told me with a very large degree of caution.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47To you and me, that's a very large pinch of salt.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53After further investigation, IFED had quite a dossier on Emma Fisher,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and the findings were staggering, to say the least.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00Our investigation revealed that over a period of almost four years,
0:27:00 > 0:27:05Emma Fisher had submitted 65 fraudulent insurance claims.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Incredibly, during that time,
0:27:08 > 0:27:13Emma Fisher only got away with £8,500.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17But it was the incredible lies she told that made her case stand out.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19In my two and a half years in charge of IFED,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23this is the most despicable and shocking case I've come across
0:27:23 > 0:27:26by some distance. We've not encountered this before,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29that someone would pretend they've got a terminal illness,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32would pretend they'd been the victim of domestic violence
0:27:32 > 0:27:37or would pretend that they've actually had a miscarriage,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40but Emma Fisher did each of those three things.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42It was clear to me on listening
0:27:42 > 0:27:45to the phone recordings of her deception,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and reading the various e-mails that she'd sent,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52that she seemed to be fully immersed in the roles that she was assuming.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54She was almost like a method actor.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56I think she could be quite convincing.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01But Emma Fisher had given her final performance.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04In July 2012, she was arrested by IFED detectives
0:28:04 > 0:28:08and charged with 22 counts of fraud.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10When she appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13she received a 22-month prison sentence.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17I believe Emma Fisher's crime spree had developed almost into a habit,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20and she effectively couldn't stop herself,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and it was one fraud after another fraud after another fraud.