0:00:02 > 0:00:05Insurance fraud in the UK has hit epidemic levels.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08It's costing us over £1 billion every year.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11That's almost £3.5 million every day.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries, even phantom pets.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23The fraudsters are risking more and more to make a quick killing
0:00:23 > 0:00:27and every year, it's adding over £50 to your insurance bill.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29But insurers are fighting back,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33exposing just under 15 fake claims every hour.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Armed with covert surveillance systems...
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Subject out the vehicle.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..sophisticated data-analysis techniques...
0:00:43 > 0:00:45..and a number of highly skilled police units...
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:00:47 > 0:00:50..they're catching the criminals red-handed.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51Just don't lie to us.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54All those con men, scammers and cheats on the fiddle
0:00:54 > 0:00:58are now caught in the act and claimed and shamed.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Coming up, one fraudster performs a vanishing act.
0:01:09 > 0:01:15She was wanted by all 43 police forces and was literally on the run.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18A victim of a road traffic accident has a change of heart.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20He'd obviously been allured
0:01:20 > 0:01:22to the money that had been put aside for him.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26And RSA encounter the world's unluckiest dog owners.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29When you looked at the invoices and the supporting documentation,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31they didn't really stack up.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42It is estimated that there were around four million
0:01:42 > 0:01:44offences of theft in the UK last year.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47So it goes without saying that insuring your belongings is
0:01:47 > 0:01:49something worth doing.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Whether you bought something outright, or are just hiring it,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56insurance is there to protect you if things go walkies.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59But unfortunately, not all claims are what they appear
0:01:59 > 0:02:03and that's where claim validations specialists like i-Cog come in.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Managing director Tara Shelton's previous
0:02:07 > 0:02:10experience as a police officer and psychologist came in handy
0:02:10 > 0:02:14when she dealt with a claim from a woman named Diane Thompson
0:02:14 > 0:02:16who had become a victim of a mugging.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23She was in a park in London
0:02:23 > 0:02:27and she had been approached by three males who robbed her of six
0:02:27 > 0:02:31cases of photographic equipment that she'd hired to make a music video.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37The equipment in total was worth £150,000.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42£150,000 - clearly this wasn't your average camera.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45It's more to do with Hollywood blockbuster movies -
0:02:45 > 0:02:47that's the type of camera it is.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Unsurprisingly, with a claim of that size, the insurance company
0:02:50 > 0:02:53were keen for Tara to find out more.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55So she gave Diane a call.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30With a long career as an accountant and a real passion for professional
0:03:30 > 0:03:35filming, spending 150 grand on her kit wasn't that far-fetched.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I initially asked Diane Thompson to just tell me
0:03:38 > 0:03:40in detail exactly what happened.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55M'hm.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05With someone as passionate about high-definition images
0:04:05 > 0:04:10as Diane obviously was, you'd expect her descriptions to be spot-on.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13I separated each of the three offenders,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16if you like, and asked her to describe them.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30OK.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47She quite clearly faltered at that point and strangely enough,
0:04:47 > 0:04:52all three looked exactly the same and were all wearing exactly the same clothing.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13This certainly does sound interesting.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21M'hm.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26Mugged and no mobile phone - Diane really was having a bad day.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39And her bad luck didn't end there,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43as Diane wasn't able to find the boys in blue anywhere.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47The account of her being approached by three males who were all
0:05:47 > 0:05:49dressed the same and all looked the same,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and then her actions after the theft,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56of racing around London for five hours in a car
0:05:56 > 0:05:58to report it to the police but every police station
0:05:58 > 0:06:03that she visited was closed, just didn't ring true.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08One hell of a story, more like - and unfortunately for Diane,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11the longer the call went on, the more her account
0:06:11 > 0:06:14sounded like fiction rather than fact.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17When I relayed my concerns to Diane,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19it was quite interesting -
0:06:19 > 0:06:24she took on a persona of quite an uneducated, weak female
0:06:24 > 0:06:26who didn't understand.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35She might have struggled to find the police on the day
0:06:35 > 0:06:39but fortunately for Diane, she was now speaking to the perfect person.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Well, it's not every day you have a former detective
0:06:55 > 0:06:56investigating your case.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59That can only be a good thing, can't it?
0:06:59 > 0:07:03After my phone call with Diane, it was very important at that stage
0:07:03 > 0:07:06just to follow the normal insurance process.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10We had to meet Diane and I invited the insurer to come with me and take
0:07:10 > 0:07:14a statement from her and actually get her to sign that statement.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19But when Tara arrived at the address Diane had given,
0:07:19 > 0:07:20the case took a shocking twist.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25When I actually turned up at her home address,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28not only was she not there, but she had...actually hadn't been
0:07:28 > 0:07:31living at that address for probably about three months at that time.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Unfortunately, the only way for her to get out the situation
0:07:35 > 0:07:36was to go on the run.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42This really is starting to sound like a Hollywood plot
0:07:42 > 0:07:46and Tara thinks she may know exactly why Diane did a runner.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Her motivation for disappearing was very, very clear to me,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52she'd been detected.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57Diane Thompson was wanted by all 43 police forces
0:07:57 > 0:07:59and was literally on the run.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02With the country's police force on the lookout for Diane,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Tara and her team turned their attention to the stolen kit.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09In the media industry, there's actually an intelligence
0:08:09 > 0:08:13database where you can place potentially stolen equipment
0:08:13 > 0:08:16to alert the industry that any equipment that comes into their
0:08:16 > 0:08:21hands with this particular serial number has been reported as stolen.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Thanks to this database, the plot thickened even further.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27A few days later, um,
0:08:27 > 0:08:33a music producer in Italy contacted the Metropolitan police
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and said, "I have that camera in my hands as we speak."
0:08:38 > 0:08:41So the kit that our pretend producer had flogged abroad was
0:08:41 > 0:08:43returned to the hire company.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47But finding Diane wasn't so easy
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and she stayed missing for over a year
0:08:50 > 0:08:52until the police had a remarkable stroke of luck.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57The local policing team just happened to be passing one
0:08:57 > 0:09:01of her old addresses and she just happened to be standing outside.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06I mean, it was...it was literally that random, and she was arrested
0:09:06 > 0:09:11and conveyed straight to Holloway on a remand warrant pending trial.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14She may have been a phoney producer
0:09:14 > 0:09:18but Diane still had one final plot twist up her sleeve.
0:09:18 > 0:09:24When I found out that Diane had gone against her advice from her
0:09:24 > 0:09:30own counsel and decided to plead not guilty I was...I was utterly amazed.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32It might have taken a year to track Diane down
0:09:32 > 0:09:35but justice was served rather more swiftly.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40And I was absolutely delighted when within nine minutes, the jury
0:09:40 > 0:09:43unanimously found Diane Thompson guilty.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48Diane Thompson had claimed for over £150,000 of equipment, but instead
0:09:48 > 0:09:53of a career behind the camera, she got over two years behind bars.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I think it's fair to say Diane Thompson thought
0:09:55 > 0:09:58she was cleverer than she was and that first phone call
0:09:58 > 0:10:02I had with her without question identified that she wasn't
0:10:02 > 0:10:05going to get away with this story, but because she was in so deep,
0:10:05 > 0:10:09and was committed to her story at that time, she really had no choice
0:10:09 > 0:10:14but to follow it through or to admit the truth, and she was never going
0:10:14 > 0:10:18to admit the truth, and to this day, she still doesn't admit the truth.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Still to come, there's a fiery case of whodunnit.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31What's quite clear is that he deliberately started the fire
0:10:31 > 0:10:34and left it to burn out.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36And some sick puppies need looking at.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Either the Staffords were the unluckiest dog owners in the world,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43or else there is something not quite right about this claim.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45DOG WHIMPERS
0:10:51 > 0:10:55With around 30 million cars on UK roads, it's unfortunately
0:10:55 > 0:10:58inevitable that accidents happen from time to time.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01But thankfully, not all accidents are severe.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05Colin Bushell of DWF knows as well as anyone that no matter how
0:11:05 > 0:11:09big or small a claim may be, they all need investigating -
0:11:09 > 0:11:11even if it involves parked vehicles.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14The accident itself is quite straightforward.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16The claimant's coming along a minor road
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and looks to park up on the side of the road.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21The defendant is actually parked to his left,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23and he's looking to come onto the main road itself
0:11:23 > 0:11:27and there's a very minor bump between the two cars.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29A minor bump - that sounds like it should be a quick
0:11:29 > 0:11:30and easy claim to settle.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32This was a straightforward case.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33LV were looking to make payments
0:11:33 > 0:11:35in respect to the vehicle damage,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37so there were no issues from their perspective.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Ursula Jallow and her team at LV dealt with the claim.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47He told us about somebody who'd actually rung him
0:11:47 > 0:11:49earlier in the morning, letting him know that they knew that he'd
0:11:49 > 0:11:55had an accident and that actually he was entitled to some money.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18To the claimant's credit, he actually said that he had a pre-existing condition.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31As an insurance company, this was great, to hear a consumer
0:12:31 > 0:12:34telling us this, because that tells us actually the message is
0:12:34 > 0:12:37getting across that it's not OK to put a fraudulent whiplash claim
0:12:37 > 0:12:40through when actually there's nothing wrong with you.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45And so actually when we were hearing this from our third party, it was very, very refreshing.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48And this upstanding man wasn't exactly shy
0:12:48 > 0:12:51about sharing his feelings about opportunistic claimants.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Having had the conversation with the third party,
0:13:02 > 0:13:08we then surprisingly had a claim through from a solicitor's acting on behalf of him.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11When investigators read through the document, it seemed to tell
0:13:11 > 0:13:13a different story altogether.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16He has a neck injury which is described as being severe
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and a lower-back injury, which again is severe.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24Hang on. The last time they spoke to him, he was strongly against bogus claims.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33He'd obviously been allured to the money that had been put aside for him.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42As the insurers continued to read on,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44it went from surprising to shocking.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Very specifically within the medical report
0:13:47 > 0:13:51is reference to having suffered severe shock,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53and there was actually severe travel fear included
0:13:53 > 0:13:55within the medical report itself.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57"Travel fear"?
0:13:57 > 0:13:58That's a new one on me.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02This chap really had done a complete U-turn.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05When you look at and consider the evidence or the tone very much
0:14:05 > 0:14:07within the initial phone call,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10this gentleman doesn't come across as somebody who is
0:14:10 > 0:14:13in any way, shape or form suffering from shock.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16He comes across as a very calm, considered gentleman.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25So, even though this claimant's injuries seemed to have changed
0:14:25 > 0:14:30drastically, unbelievably he still stuck to his story.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Both parties decided to run this to trial.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36If the claimant were to succeed, he's looking at the value
0:14:36 > 0:14:39of his claim to be around £3,500.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Armed with the evidence from the phone call,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44LV and DWF were more than happy to go to court.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47The call recording is fairly unique.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50It's not often you're able to bring that type of evidence
0:14:50 > 0:14:52to a judge's attention.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Above all else, the phone-call evidence proved one thing.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58First and foremost, you've told us you weren't injured.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00You're now telling us you are.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07His story-changing antics didn't help him
0:15:07 > 0:15:10when the time came to stand in front of the judge.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14So, at trial, I think it's fair to say that the claimant came across
0:15:14 > 0:15:17very poorly and had quite a bad day out, to be honest with you.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21The extent of his cross-examination was lengthy
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and he was taken to all of the inconsistencies,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25which were numerous.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27A good example would be the fact that the claimant forgot
0:15:27 > 0:15:30he'd actually suffered, or allegedly suffered, a neck injury.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33That was something he had to try and explain away in the face of the court to the judge.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35But, unlike our claimant,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38the judge on this case only says what he means.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43So, the outcome of the hearing itself is really straightforward.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45The claimant failed on every aspect of his claim,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47so, it was dismissed in full.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50And although this claimant lost his case,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53he should count himself fortunate.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55I'd suggest the claimant was actually quite lucky.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58The court dismissed his case, but took no further steps.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01On a different day before a different judge,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04he may well have been found to have been fundamentally dishonest.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Or, a worse case scenario,
0:16:05 > 0:16:07he could be held to be in contempt.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Think of that as the court equivalent of three points.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15If we actually look at the original phone call itself,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18this gentleman acknowledges that the types of individuals
0:16:18 > 0:16:22who are going to pursue exaggerated claims are a scourge.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Apart from the "should be shot" bit,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32incredibly, this claimant has hit the nail on the head.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38And that is exactly why this issue has to be investigated,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42those making spurious, invalid, exaggerated claims
0:16:42 > 0:16:44are the root cause of this increased premium.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Pets can be a great addition to the home.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58In fact, it's estimated that 12 million UK households have them.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03And the most popular pet by a long way is,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05you've guessed it -
0:17:05 > 0:17:08dogs, with 8.5 million nationwide.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12And for some homes, one dog just isn't enough,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15as John Beadle discovered when RSA received a call
0:17:15 > 0:17:17from a canine-loving couple.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21The Staffords took out three policies with us.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26The first policy was for a dog called Buster.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Unfortunately, illness and injury affect most pets at some point
0:17:30 > 0:17:32and, sadly, Buster was no different.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Buster the dog sadly broke his leg.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38So, we funded the treatment
0:17:38 > 0:17:39for his broken leg...
0:17:39 > 0:17:43which then developed into cancer,
0:17:43 > 0:17:49and that ultimately led to him having to have his leg amputated,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and then, very sadly, ultimately, he had to be put to sleep.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Losing a pet can be an extremely upsetting experience.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01But, fortunately, the Stafford family were covered.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05The thing with pet insurance is, and I'm a dog owner,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09is you hope you never have to use your pet insurance,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12but, sadly, sometimes you do.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Following Buster's passing,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Mr and Mrs Stafford did what many dog lovers would do -
0:18:19 > 0:18:22they bought another canine companion.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27They subsequently took out another policy for a dog called Angel.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32And then Angel also developed a form of cancer.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Visits to the vet's aren't cheap, and so the Stafford family
0:18:36 > 0:18:40quickly racked up thousands of pounds' worth of vet bills.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44And, of course, all these claims we were paying in good faith
0:18:44 > 0:18:49because they were all supported by a documentation from the vets
0:18:49 > 0:18:51and invoices.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56With their recent upsetting losses in mind, the Stafford family
0:18:56 > 0:18:59decided to cheer themselves up with a third dog, Winston.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Winston then developed cancer.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Three dogs with cancer?
0:19:05 > 0:19:08This is starting to sound like Groundhog Day.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10We were entitled to think that either
0:19:10 > 0:19:14the Staffords were the unluckiest dog owners in the world
0:19:14 > 0:19:18with all three of their poor animals having developed cancer,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21or else there was something not quite right about this claim.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25And reading Mr and Mrs Stafford's paperwork did little to settle
0:19:25 > 0:19:27the investigators' concerns.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Our fraud investigators, when they began to look at this case,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and when you looked at the invoices,
0:19:33 > 0:19:34and the supporting documentation,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36they didn't really stack up.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40They didn't look as professional as they perhaps should have done.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42With concerns about Mr and Mrs Stafford's numerous
0:19:42 > 0:19:44pet insurance claims,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46RSA checked the authenticity of the documents.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49And, of course, when we went and visited the vets
0:19:49 > 0:19:53they said they'd never created any of this documentation
0:19:53 > 0:19:57or the stamps, and the signatures used were all fraudulent.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Knowing that the documents were dodgy, RSA passed the case on to the
0:20:03 > 0:20:07City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10After investigating the case,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Ifed officers arrested Mr and Mrs Stafford,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and charged them with conspiracy to commit fraud
0:20:15 > 0:20:17by false representation.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20And when the case got to court,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24the judge was less than impressed with the couple's shaggy dog story.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27We were pleased with the sentence handed down to the Staffords.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30They didn't go to prison, but they got a substantial
0:20:30 > 0:20:32suspended prison sentence,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35plus a community service order.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37The couple were also ordered to repay every penny
0:20:37 > 0:20:40of the eight grand they'd fraudulently received.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42They probably thought it was easy,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46that insurers don't have any controls around this,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49and they were probably motivated by greed.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52So, my message to the people is,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55we're not stupid,
0:20:55 > 0:20:56and you will get caught.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59So, all three of Mr and Mrs Stafford's
0:20:59 > 0:21:02pet insurance claims were bogus.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04But whatever happened to their dogs?
0:21:04 > 0:21:07Angel and Winston didn't exist at all.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12So, if Angel and Winston were phantom pooches, what about Buster?
0:21:12 > 0:21:16There is a kind of nice postscript to this story,
0:21:16 > 0:21:21because when we unravelled this series of claims as a fraud,
0:21:21 > 0:21:26we actually saw Buster, who was alive and well,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and I can assure you he had all four legs still on him.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43The UK's fire and rescue services attend over 200,000 fires
0:21:43 > 0:21:45every year.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48But as Tom Gardiner from Aviva knows only too well,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52some fire-related insurance claims are less smoky and more hokey,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55particularly when the police are giving you the heads up
0:21:55 > 0:21:56on a suspicious claim.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Mr Lee made a claim for fire damage to his Ford Transit van,
0:22:02 > 0:22:07which was found burnt out in a car park whilst it was unattended.
0:22:21 > 0:22:22Right from the start,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25doubts were raised about Mr Lee's version of events.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Very quickly, we had a number of concerns
0:22:29 > 0:22:30about the claim.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33The fire appeared to have been deliberately started
0:22:33 > 0:22:35in the passenger seat,
0:22:35 > 0:22:37but the vehicle was found locked,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41and he also had burns to his hands.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43It certainly sounds suspicious.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45But Mr Lee had an explanation.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59The police clearly thought the burns to Mr Lee's hands
0:22:59 > 0:23:02meant that he had something to do with the fire himself.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06He sought to explain that as being as a result of handling weedkiller.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09It wasn't looking good for Mr Lee.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12But then Aviva discovered something that added even more
0:23:12 > 0:23:13fuel to the fire.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19The decisive piece of evidence, and the nail in the coffin,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23was CCTV coverage at the car park,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25which Mr Lee had overlooked,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28but which actually showed him driving the vehicle, on fire,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30into the car park.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34He later tried to explain that as being fog or mist,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37but which the police were able to rule out
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and said that the weather was clear.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41With alarm bells well and truly ringing,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Aviva were confident they now knew the facts.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50I think what's quite clear is that Mr Lee deliberately started
0:23:50 > 0:23:53the fire in the vehicle himself,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55drove it to the car park,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58locked it and left it to burn out.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Realising his claim was up in smoke,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Mr Lee started having second thoughts.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Eight days after he'd reported the incident,
0:24:09 > 0:24:14Mr Lee telephoned Aviva wanting to withdraw the claim.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Unfortunately what he didn't realise was
0:24:33 > 0:24:36withdrawing a claim wouldn't take away the crime.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Faced with the evidence against him in court,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Mr Lee took a turn for the worse.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47At the trial, during evidence, when presented with the CCTV images,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51he suddenly alleged chest pains,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54and, as a result, the trial was adjourned
0:24:54 > 0:24:57while an ambulance attended.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Thankfully, the chest pains didn't last,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and it wasn't long before the trial resumed.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07Mr Lee finally received a suspended sentence of 16 weeks.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10So, anyone thinking they can just walk away from this type
0:25:10 > 0:25:14of fraudulent claim is risking more than just burnt fingers.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18I think the lesson is that submitting fraudulent claims
0:25:18 > 0:25:25isn't the solution, because you will get caught, you will get prosecuted.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Mr Lee will find it very difficult to access financial products
0:25:29 > 0:25:33in the future, and instead of being a lot better off,
0:25:33 > 0:25:34he's a lot worse off.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47If you think that man's attempt to cash in was extreme, then buckle up.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Because outside the British Isles,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53there are people whose attempts to cash in on insurance payouts
0:25:53 > 0:25:55go from ridiculously shocking...
0:25:55 > 0:25:56to just plain stupid.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Let's file that one under "ridiculous", shall we?
0:26:03 > 0:26:07And the risk some people are willing to go to can be frightening.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Even your mate is leaving you alone on that one.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19Taxi!
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Getting caught faking a personal injury claim can be pretty serious,
0:26:24 > 0:26:26but to some it's worth the risk.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30But not worth making an effort, though, I see.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Here's a chap who seems happy to show you how it's done.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38That'll leave a mark.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Maybe next time this young man will think twice before he throws
0:26:43 > 0:26:45himself in front of a moving car.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50That looks like more of a snooze than a bruise.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52On your bike!
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Yep, when it comes down to it, to some people it doesn't matter
0:26:55 > 0:26:57if it's on a slow street...
0:26:57 > 0:27:00or a hurtling highway.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Forget the payout, you're lucky to leave this scam with your life.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Ludicrous claims happen all over the world,
0:27:11 > 0:27:12but if that isn't scary enough,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16some people are taking their chances and falling in front of moving cars
0:27:16 > 0:27:17here in the UK, too,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21as this unlucky learner driver found out.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Yep, this looks like a perfect road to practise the old
0:27:23 > 0:27:25three-point turn.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30What's he doing?
0:27:34 > 0:27:35That's nice of him.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Oh, he's back. Maybe he's going to give the windscreen a clean?
0:27:42 > 0:27:44- Ah!- BLEEP!
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Comfortable down there, are you?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49I want to see that again.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Ah!
0:27:51 > 0:27:52Put it in reverse, would you?
0:27:52 > 0:27:53Here he comes...
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Oh, there you go.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Help!
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Thankfully, this man walked away and didn't submit an insurance claim.