0:00:02 > 0:00:09Every year, conmen and scam artists net an estimated £3.5 billion from us, the British public.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12They don't care how they do it or how much damage they cause,
0:00:12 > 0:00:17they only really care about one thing, how much cash they can get.
0:00:34 > 0:00:40Coming up... The couple sucked into a sophisticated holiday scam.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I can't deal with this any more. This is making me ill.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48And the car insurance fraudsters who put innocent lives at risk.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52So I slammed on the brakes, of course, not quick enough.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54And ran into the back of him.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Well, I'm here to tell you what the conman doesn't want you to know,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01how to stay one step ahead of the game and not get scammed.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Timeshare has often been a byword for consumer nightmares
0:01:12 > 0:01:15yet almost half a million Brits own one.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Do you know, there are many people who have bought timeshares
0:01:20 > 0:01:22and have been perfectly happy with them.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28However, there are also thousands who are stuck in timeshare contracts
0:01:28 > 0:01:31that they are desperate to get out of
0:01:31 > 0:01:35and it's them that scam artists are targeting right now
0:01:35 > 0:01:37with a whole range of ingenious
0:01:37 > 0:01:41and sophisticated scams that make people's lives a misery.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Known as resale scams, they target people who are desperate
0:01:48 > 0:01:51to sell their timeshare and agencies like the National Fraud Authority
0:01:51 > 0:01:55are receiving huge numbers of complaints.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58We know of tens of thousands of people who've been affected
0:01:58 > 0:02:01and have lost together hundreds of millions of pounds.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Timeshare resale scams are on the rise
0:02:04 > 0:02:07as more and more people try to sell up.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11There are a lot of people who are now desperate to get rid of their timeshare.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13They find it's a millstone round their neck,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17mainly because of maintenance fees and maintenance fees increasing.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19If perhaps they have grown older
0:02:19 > 0:02:21and don't want to travel to the same destination
0:02:21 > 0:02:25or go on holiday at all, they find they have this obligation to pay
0:02:25 > 0:02:28these fees year after year and they want to get rid of the timeshare.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Michael and Hillary know this feeling all too well,
0:02:32 > 0:02:38after having spent the last six years trying to get rid of a timeshare they bought in 1998.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42- Hello.- Hi.- Mike.
0:02:42 > 0:02:48- So this all started with a holiday or an idea for a holiday, is that right?- It did.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52We had an invitation to attend a presentation
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and so we went along to it saying,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56"We're not going to enter into anything.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59"We're not going to sign up into anything."
0:02:59 > 0:03:06And we came away having signed up for a timeshare with a canal boat in the Midlands.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09In addition to that, they'd be able to exchange
0:03:09 > 0:03:12weeks on the canal boat for weeks abroad,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16giving them the flexibility to take holidays wherever they wanted.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19The icing on the cake was that their grown-up children could use it too,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22which was a major selling point for Hillary.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25You almost in a way, I start to say,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27"Yes. I can see it would be really nice to have a holiday
0:03:27 > 0:03:31"and it would be good for the children to tap into this whenever they wanted to."
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Mike, what was more important to you during that meeting,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37the fact that you got a good deal
0:03:37 > 0:03:40or the fact that Hillary came out happy?
0:03:42 > 0:03:46I think I've got to honestly say that it was that Hillary came out happy.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49They signed up to the timeshare for £6,000
0:03:49 > 0:03:53and were soon packing their suitcases for a holiday abroad.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56But in 2003, five years after Michael
0:03:56 > 0:04:01and Hillary had bought their timeshare, the novelty had worn off.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04It became apparent to us very quickly
0:04:04 > 0:04:07that it wasn't quite the holidays that we wanted.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10If you want to get rid of your timeshare, the first thing you
0:04:10 > 0:04:13probably do is go back to the people you bought it from or the resort
0:04:13 > 0:04:17and try and sell it back but they don't want you to give the keys back.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21It is more valuable for them to keep you pay the maintenance fees
0:04:21 > 0:04:23and it is difficult for them to sell.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26There is not much of a second hand market in timeshare.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30We couldn't sell the holiday back to the company
0:04:30 > 0:04:36and from what I can recall, their comment was,
0:04:36 > 0:04:41"There are plenty of companies out there that will handle that for you."
0:04:41 > 0:04:45The couple didn't know where to start.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Then they received a phone call that seemed to offer the solution.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52You might get a cold call from someone who says
0:04:52 > 0:04:54they can sell your timeshare.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57The catch is they will ask you to pay an upfront fee,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59to put it in their listings.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05Initially they asked for, erm, about 130 euros
0:05:05 > 0:05:08or something like that so it wasn't a great deal.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11From that money, did you see any evidence
0:05:11 > 0:05:14- of them marketing your timeshare? - No.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18The company had taken Michael and Hillary's money
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and seen to have given them nothing in return.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25But another cold call offered another ray of hope.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28A new variation that we see of this resale scam
0:05:28 > 0:05:30is to actually invite you to a presentation,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32like the ones you probably went to
0:05:32 > 0:05:36when they sold you your timeshare in the first place,
0:05:36 > 0:05:37to sell timeshares to new owners.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41This chap, with all the noise of the presentation behind, said,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43"We've got a couple who want to buy into it.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46"If you let us have your credit card details,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48"we can do the required paperwork for you."
0:05:48 > 0:05:50I can remember running to you.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- You were at a Scout meeting, weren't you?- Yes.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Running excitedly saying, "We've sold it! We've sold it!
0:05:56 > 0:05:58"All we need is the credit card."
0:05:58 > 0:06:00- You sold it but they want payment from you.- I know.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04The company took £495 from Michael and Hillary
0:06:04 > 0:06:09and then the buyers mysteriously fell through.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12The couple had lost over £600 trying to sell their timeshare
0:06:12 > 0:06:16and were feeling increasingly frustrated.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18You just want rid of it.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22I can remember you saying that, "What other options do we have? We've got to try and go with this."
0:06:22 > 0:06:27But the cold calls kept coming through,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29each one seeming to offer a possible solution.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34Michael and Hillary were now on what's rather unkindly called a suckers list.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38These lists are sold around the criminal fraternity in Spain
0:06:38 > 0:06:41and the Canary Islands and other people target you.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44'As if to prove the point, whilst I am talking to Michael and Hillary,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46the phone rings.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50'It's another timeshare resale company so I pretend to be Michael.'
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Hello.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54They are updating their records
0:06:54 > 0:06:57but keen to get the couple off the suckers list,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I tell him the timeshare has been sold.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Speak to you soon. Bye-bye.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04- So have you heard from those guys before?- Never. Never heard of them before.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06It just goes to show, scammers never give up
0:07:06 > 0:07:09if they think they can get more of your money.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14I am becoming so stressed by the whole thing
0:07:14 > 0:07:16that I don't want to know any more.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20You know, and instead of possibly being more supportive,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25I'm saying, "You handle it. I can't deal with this any more. This is making me ill."
0:07:25 > 0:07:32In the end, there were about four or even five different companies that
0:07:32 > 0:07:38I paid money to in order to get rid of this timeshare
0:07:38 > 0:07:40that we no longer want and no longer need.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43If you are desperate to sell something, you will
0:07:43 > 0:07:46look for increasingly desperate measures and therefore,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48you are more likely to be taken in by the sales person,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50by that phone call.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55And the scammers were now ready with a new tactic.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01We were invited to a presentation
0:08:01 > 0:08:04that would buy our timeshare from us,
0:08:04 > 0:08:05but in order to do so,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09we would have to buy into their holiday scheme.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14And this was another classic con, known as the Holiday Club scam.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Although not all holiday clubs are bogus, sadly, many are,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21and they make promises they simply can't keep.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24You won't have the ongoing liabilities, the maintenance fees,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27year in year out, but would you will have,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29you will continue to have
0:08:29 > 0:08:32holidays but anywhere in the world now, through their holiday club,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36with only a very small annual charge of 20 or £30.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Signing up to the Holiday Club would mean writing out yet another cheque,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47but the salesmen knew it was just what to say.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52You're not going to have to have, pay any charge at all with this,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54because they are going to sell you, at the same time,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57what they call a reclaim certificate.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00A type of way of insuring, guaranteeing,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02you're going to get all your money back in five years.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04The salesman told Michael and Hillary
0:09:04 > 0:09:08they could do this by investing funds in the stock market
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and the couple were persuaded to sign up.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- How much money are we talking here? - About £6,000.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21The following year, the owner of the company who made these promises
0:09:21 > 0:09:24was convicted on 11 counts of fraud.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28The couple knew they had been scammed
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and it was Michael who was taking the brunt of the stress.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36I think he probably feels, because he's not been able to deal with it
0:09:36 > 0:09:43and handle it, that in some way he may have failed, let us down.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48And I'm all the more feeling bad that I got us into this
0:09:48 > 0:09:53in the first place and caused such a lot of stress for him, too.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56We've been through Holiday Club, we've been through the point
0:09:56 > 0:09:59where you think you have sold your timeshare.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04- Yes. Yes.- Is that the end of it? Can you finally draw a line under it?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06A company came along
0:10:06 > 0:10:10offering to help us get our money back
0:10:10 > 0:10:15from those companies that had scammed us and that we paid our money to.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Incredibly the company claimed to be a firm of lawyers
0:10:18 > 0:10:21who were investigating timeshare scams.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23They might have all the information,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25that you'd expect an investigator to have,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27because they scammed you in the first place.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31And they came back to me saying, "OK, we've got everything set up now,
0:10:31 > 0:10:36"and what we need is some money to pay for the translation, the documents,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39"cos all these have to be gone through the Spanish courts,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42"not the UK courts."
0:10:42 > 0:10:44This money we'd get back afterwards.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48In a last-ditch attempt to salvage something from the situation,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Hillary and Michael parted with another £2,000.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55But yet again they'd been deceived by vicious conmen
0:10:55 > 0:10:58who'd now spent five years trying to take the couple
0:10:58 > 0:11:00for every penny possible.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04How much has it cost you?
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Approximately £12,000.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09OK.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14'You may wonder how Michael and Hillary could possibly have handed over such large sums of money,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18'but the conmen behind these scams were cold and calculating.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23'I think they saw something in Michael and Hillary that kept them coming back for more.'
0:11:23 > 0:11:26I think it's the fact that you really care for each other
0:11:26 > 0:11:30that is the centre of why they've been allowed to carry on
0:11:30 > 0:11:31doing it for so long.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Cos we wanted the best for each other, I suppose.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- And for your family. - And for the family.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41And the horrible thing about this is that you end up feeling guilty
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- and like you've done something wrong.- Mmm.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49But you haven't. All you've got to do is say, "It's happened,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52"and we love each other and we'll stop now,"
0:11:52 > 0:11:54and that's it, and draw a line, move on.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Michael and Hillary's story shows just how far
0:11:59 > 0:12:02timeshare scammers are prepared to go,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05so how can you avoid the conmen's clever traps?
0:12:05 > 0:12:09If you're selling a timeshare there are two golden rules to follow.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13First of all to be realistic about the price you're going to get.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16There's a limited second-hand market for timeshare,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19which means you're only likely to get a fraction of what you paid
0:12:19 > 0:12:20in the first place.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22The second golden rule is,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26don't go with any agency who wants a fee upfront.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30If they can sell your timeshare then ask to pay them afterwards,
0:12:30 > 0:12:31so they can get a cut.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Sadly, this advice is too late for Michael and Hillary,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39who were targeted in a ruthless and calculated way.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Scams play on human nature and the way people are.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49The worst ones play on the most positive parts of human nature.
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Not greed,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54but actually on the stuff that glues us all together.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00That really is very, very helpful.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Nobody wants to be in a car accident.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Even a little prang can be traumatic.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12But if you've had one in the last couple of years, it might not be all it seems.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Every year car insurance claims in the UK amount
0:13:17 > 0:13:20to an amazing £8.7 billion.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23These claims can be for anything,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25from accident damage to personal injury.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28And with such large sums of money involved,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30it's no surprise
0:13:30 > 0:13:34that scam artists have decided they want a piece of the action.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38And in 2006, a Luton-based gang were on the verge of pulling off
0:13:38 > 0:13:42one of the largest car insurance cons ever seen.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47The kind of crime that could have affected every motorist on UK roads.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53On average it's costing genuine consumers £44 per policy, per year,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55towards the cost of fraud.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Patricia lives just outside London and works at her local golf club.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05In February 2006 she was driving home,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07when she was involved in a crash.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10I saw a car stop really abruptly in front of me...
0:14:12 > 0:14:16..so I slammed on the brakes, of course not quick enough, and ran into the back of him.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Patricia and the other driver pulled over to exchange details.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26It wasn't like he was upset or anything.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28He was going on about this car that had cut him up.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31He said, "Did you see that car go in front of us?"
0:14:31 > 0:14:35I remembered then that I had seen this - I think it was a red car -
0:14:35 > 0:14:37zip across in front of him.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39The red car had caused the accident
0:14:39 > 0:14:43by cutting up the driver in front of Patricia,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45forcing him to slam on his brakes.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50But it had then driven off, leaving Patricia to carry the can.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54You just live with it cos you think, rear-end accidents,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57it's always the fault of the person who hits the other one,
0:14:57 > 0:14:58so you just live with it.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03But Patricia did something that would later prove invaluable.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07I did take a picture of the back end of his car with the registration,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10because my partner had always said, "Use your mobile phone for that."
0:15:10 > 0:15:13So that was quite good because I had a picture of the car.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15It didn't have much damage to it at all.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Yet the other party claimed
0:15:17 > 0:15:21their car had £5,000 worth of damage.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25It soon transpired that Patricia's crash was no accident.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It had been pre-planned and carefully staged in a scam
0:15:32 > 0:15:36which agencies like the Insurance Fraud Bureau call cash-for-crash.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38What they're typically doing
0:15:38 > 0:15:40is travelling in front of an innocent motorist,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43slamming on their brakes, for example,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46and the following vehicle has no choice but to hit the rear of their car,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50and then they're pursuing claims for injuries for the occupants.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Usually the occupants aren't in the car at the time,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55or if they are, they're claiming for ficticious injuries.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Cash-for-crash can also involve deliberately smashing up cars
0:15:59 > 0:16:03and claiming for accidents that never happened.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05It's a crime that nets an estimated
0:16:05 > 0:16:08£350 million a year.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11They're endangering other people's lives on the road with their driving,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15affecting other people's insurance costs but, ultimately, you're talking around fraud.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20And it's an offence that's firmly on the radar
0:16:20 > 0:16:24of Detective Constable Mick Conneely from Bedfordshire Police.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27In 2006 he was called out to investigate a gang
0:16:27 > 0:16:31suspected of carrying out cash-for-crash fraud.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34The investigation had been sparked by surveillance footage
0:16:34 > 0:16:36taken at a nearby farm.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39We had some observations
0:16:39 > 0:16:41and viewing that observation material
0:16:41 > 0:16:46allowed us to see what sort of criminality they were involved in,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49and that led to a cash-for-crash investigation.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Two of the men caught on camera were Kamsam Mahmood,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55the owner of the farm, here with the grey hood,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59and in the orange jacket, Peter Charlery, a recovery driver.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Kamsam Mahmood was about to do something
0:17:03 > 0:17:05that surprised the watching officers.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10They saw Kamsam Mahmood get into a JCB
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and hit the front of a Jaguar motor vehicle.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Why would somebody deliberately damage a perfectly nice car?
0:17:19 > 0:17:21It soon became clear.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26We spoke to the insurers for the Jaguar.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29They told us that there was a claim for that Jaguar being involved
0:17:29 > 0:17:31in an accident claim.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36The Jaguar belonged to Kamsam Mahmood's brother, Istafa Hussein,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39and the claim said the damage to the car had been caused
0:17:39 > 0:17:42ten days earlier. The police knew that was a lie.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45And as the insurance company wanted to see the damage,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49the gang HAD to make the Jaguar look like it had been in a crash.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53And the Jaguar crash was just the beginning.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57So 15th May, for example,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00a blue Astra is brought on to Long Meadow Farm by Kamsam Mahmood.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03The vehicle is undamaged,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07and having been on Long Meadow Farm, it's then taken away,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and it goes to a garage where it's MOT-ed.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12The very next morning,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16the same Astra has significant damage to the front of it.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20And the gang had submitted another false claim,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23saying the Astra had been in a crash the day after the officers
0:18:23 > 0:18:25saw it smashed up at the farm.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Every car at the farm was now under scrutiny,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34and DC Conneely's team soon found a common thread.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37It was apparent that there was one accident management company
0:18:37 > 0:18:40that was involved in the managing of these accident claims,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42and that was Swift Accident Management.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Accident management firms do everything,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48from recovering damaged vehicles to organising repairs
0:18:48 > 0:18:50and helping submit insurance claims.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53That made Swift Accident Management the perfect front
0:18:53 > 0:18:55for the gang's crimes.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59The men behind Swift were Saraj Qazi,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Hafiz Chisti
0:19:02 > 0:19:03and Majid Hussein,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and they helped mastermind a series of fraudulent claims.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11So our initial investigation showed us there were various types of claims being made.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14There were claims for accidents that never happened,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17like those seen on the farm with the Jaguar and the Astra.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20These claims would be for thousands of pounds worth of damage,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24plus recovery costs and personal injury.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27There were innocent people who approached Swift,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30thinking they were a legitimate accident management firm.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32If you had a genuine accident
0:19:32 > 0:19:36then there's no reason to say you wouldn't go to them.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39You would go in there and you would say, "I've had an accident.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41"Can you deal with it?"
0:19:41 > 0:19:43At that stage that is a genuine accident.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46What Swift Accident Management then did with it
0:19:46 > 0:19:49was make some money out of it fraudulently.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Swift would do this by inventing extra damage,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55or additional whiplash injuries.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57They would then pocket the extra cash
0:19:57 > 0:20:00and the customer would know nothing about it.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Finally came the induced accidents - crashes caused on purpose
0:20:06 > 0:20:09involving innocent members of the public.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Induced accidents are clearly the most dangerous accidents
0:20:13 > 0:20:16to be involved in and be party to.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Patricia's crash was one of many induced accidents
0:20:19 > 0:20:22orchestrated by the Swift gang.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25And she had no idea she'd been caught up in a scam
0:20:25 > 0:20:28until she got a surprise call from her insurance company.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32He just told me that the claim from the other party
0:20:32 > 0:20:36had been that the car had been completely demolished,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and four people in the car claiming for injury.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43But the photo Patricia had taken at the scene of the accident
0:20:43 > 0:20:45proved this was a lie,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and it was added to the mounting pile of evidence against Swift Accident Management.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53And in November 2006,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57the police were ready to carry out a series of raids.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01They hit several addresses, including the farm where cars were being smashed up,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04and the offices of Swift Accident Management,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07the company at the centre of the scam.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11As a result of those warrants, ten people were arrested
0:21:11 > 0:21:15and were interviewed in relation to cash-for-crash fraud,
0:21:15 > 0:21:22and as a result of that, those warrants, a large amount of paperwork was seized,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25including paperwork from both Swift Accident Management in Luton
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and Swift Accident Management in Reading.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31The company was shut down there and then,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and the men behind it, Saraj Qazi, Hafiz Chisti, and Majid Hussein,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38were arrested, along with Kamsam Mahmood,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Istafa Hussein
0:21:40 > 0:21:41and Peter Charlery from the farm.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45DC Conneely now had to make sure he had a water-tight case
0:21:45 > 0:21:47against the gang.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50In the 15 months they were trading,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54they dealt with 180 individual accident claims,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57from which there were 230 individual claims,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00the 50 additional claims being personal injury.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06And that meant the gang were raking in huge sums of money.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10With an industry-agreed average of £18,000 per claim,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13if those 180 claims had been fully paid,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16they would've made in the region of £3.2 million.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19The police knew they were looking at a highly-organised crime.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23The gang had employed several professionals to help convince insurance companies
0:22:23 > 0:22:24that the claims were real.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28One was Christopher Fennessy, a trusted vehicle examiner
0:22:28 > 0:22:31who was paid to exaggerate damage to the cars.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34The vehicle examiner examines the vehicle on 18th May,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Christopher Fennessy, and he's examining that vehicle...
0:22:39 > 0:22:40..as it is, undamaged.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44You can see it's undamaged from this photograph here.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47That Audi and that Corsa
0:22:47 > 0:22:49were purportedly involved in an accident
0:22:49 > 0:22:51later that same day.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52Then there was the taxi firm
0:22:52 > 0:22:55who handed over details of cars and drivers
0:22:55 > 0:22:58that could be used in fraudulent claims.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02The gang's web of deceit even included their nearest and dearest.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05They used people they could trust.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08They used family members, friends of family members.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12As the scale of the crime went up,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14so did the number of arrests.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18In the end we arrested 60 individuals and took 45 to court,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22so even that became a huge investigation.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25After three-and-a-half years, Bedfordshire Police finally had
0:23:25 > 0:23:28all the evidence they needed to take the gang to court.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32This included the photograph taken by innocent victim, Patricia.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36We had the vehicle examiner plead very early on, Christopher Fennessy,
0:23:36 > 0:23:37plead guilty to conspiracy,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41and then the people from the accident management company, the office front, as we call them,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Saraj Qazi, Majid Hussein
0:23:44 > 0:23:46and Hafiz Chisti pleaded guilty.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And with some of the key figures convicted,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52it was only matter of time before others followed.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57By April 2011, 23 men had been jailed for their part in the scam.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Among them were Christopher Fennessy,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Saraj Qazi,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Hafiz Chisti,
0:24:04 > 0:24:05Majid Hussein,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Kamsam Mahmood,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Istafa Hussein,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and Peter Charlery.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The convictions were a testament to the hard work of DC Conneely
0:24:14 > 0:24:16and his team.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And there was more good news for innocent victims like Patricia,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24who were able to square things with their insurance companies
0:24:24 > 0:24:27so they weren't hit with inflated premiums.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31He said that I would be able to have my no-claims back.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35So I called up the company and they readjusted that back down
0:24:35 > 0:24:37to what it was prior to,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39so that was that.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43So if you're involved in a crash and you think it's suspicious, what should you do?
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Ask details of who the people are in the vehicle.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Look at the vehicle itself, take a note down of the damage that's been caused,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54because a lot of the claims have large amounts of ficticious damage
0:24:54 > 0:24:56associated with the vehicles.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59If you've got a camera phone or any facility to take a photograph,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03by all means try and take a photograph of the rear of the vehicle.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06If you can, include in your picture of the scene of the accident
0:25:06 > 0:25:10the fraudsters themselves or the people you think are involved in the fraud.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15For more advice about cash-for-crash or any of the scams featured,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17go to...
0:25:23 > 0:25:25'Before we go,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'there's just time to tell you about some of the latest scams out there.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32'I've come to meet an expert from the National Fraud Authority
0:25:32 > 0:25:35'to get the low-down on what you should be looking out for.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38'Today we're looking at scams that draw you in by telling you
0:25:38 > 0:25:40'you've won a prize or competition.'
0:25:47 > 0:25:51Everyone likes a competition. What are the competitions out there at the moment
0:25:51 > 0:25:53where you get the surprise, not a prize?
0:25:53 > 0:25:56You have won the Spanish,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59the Canadian, the Australian, for example, Lottery.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02The problem is, of course, you haven't won.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06You cannot win it because you've never entered it.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07And when you reply,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10you'll be asked to pay an upfront fee to release your prize.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13But don't, cos the prize doesn't exist.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17And whatever you do, don't give out your credit card details.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Next, the holiday prize scam.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25They're saying that you've won this holiday to a location,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27and please phone this number,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and it could well be a premium-rate phone call again.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33In actually contacting them,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36the fees that you rack up on the phone call
0:26:36 > 0:26:40could actually outweigh the value of the holiday in the first place.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43So if you're told you've won a holiday
0:26:43 > 0:26:47but you have to call a premium-rate number to claim your prize,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49the chances are, yes, it's a scam.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52So there you go.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54It doesn't matter how clever the scam is,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56if you recognise the warning signs,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59you can stay one step ahead of the conmen.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd