A warning has been issued to millions of drivers who post pictures of their cars online, as fraudsters are using artificial intelligence to fabricate crashes and leave victims thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Leading insurer Allianz UK combatted over 34,200 insurance fraud cases last year, totalling nearly £174 million. In one case, an individual had a picture of his van on his business social media page, and a claim was pursued in his name for an accident that never happened. Allianz received images of his vehicle from the fraudsters, showing the front bumper had been 'cracked' in the alleged accident, along with a false repair invoice totalling around £1,000.
Noticing concerns with the claim, Allianz investigated the case and identified that the image was identical to the one found on social media, but with the crack added through AI photo editing.
Another Case: Selling a Car Online
In another case, someone selling their car online was targeted when his Mercedes was used to fabricate a claim by a fraudster. Allianz received a claim for an accident which had been staged using a different Mercedes car that looked very similar to the one online, and AI had been used to change the numberplate.
Fraud investigations revealed the car was in fact a different model, and the incident was fake.
Insurer's Warning
Matt Crabtree, Head of Financial Crime Intelligence & Investigation Strategy at Allianz UK, commented: "Insurance fraud constantly evolves and we're seeing this through the rise of AI and photo editing, which is a current challenge for the industry."
"We're seeing a mix of fraudsters exploiting what they can find online to submit fake claims and take out insurance, to customers exaggerating and fabricating claims for money. This is a wide-scale problem, as we're seeing it across all our products in both commercial and personal lines."
"Our fraud team continues to develop existing fraud controls. However, the rapidly changing nature of how fraudsters operate poses big risks to innocent drivers. We continue to combat this type of fraud and show the value of insurers and to keep costs down for honest motorists, but also act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of using a fake insurance claim to make extra money."
