Fraud Alert
Detective Asst Insp Tom  Muleya
Insurance companies play a major role in ensuring that when disaster strikes, services and operations are quickly returned to normalcy. Most businesses are insured against some losses.

This also extends to our personal assets such as motor vehicles which are insured against accidents.
This disaster recovery industry is, however, being siphoned of millions of dollars in fraudulent claims with little detection. In the past, it was clients who lost their money to bogus insurance companies.
While this may still be happening, insurance companies have of late been on the bitter receiving end. These institutions are paying for fraudulent claims in respect of vehicle insurance claims. Fraudsters in these scams make claims in respect of staged accidents or induced accidents.

Now let’s look at one scenario involving a fraudulent claim:
Fraudster-X had an uninsured vehicle which he used on his day-to-day business. As he was cruising from Bulawayo to Harare, he got involved in a road traffic accident which caused extensive damage to his vehicle.
X was at fault, he failed to apply brakes at a curve and rammed into a tree. X then reported the accident to police the next day, June 9 2012, and the accident was recorded under TAB-21/12.

X did not have insurance cover for his vehicle to meet repair costs. He then hatched a plan to defraud an insurance company. A week later he approached the insurance company and applied for insurance cover or policy in respect of an already damaged vehicle. At the time of applying for cover, he did not disclose details that his vehicle had already been involved in a road traffic accident.
On July 13 2012, X approached the insurer with a claim alleging that his vehicle had been involved in a road traffic accident. The insurer processed the claim and he was paid US$13 000. After receiving the money, X went and bought another new vehicle.

Other situations are those that involve staged armed robbery. The fraudsters make false reports to police that they lost their vehicles to armed robbers along the highway. Armed with false reports, they go to insurance companies and then make claims in respect of non-stolen vehicles. Others deliberately damage their own vehicles so that they make claims. I will continue with insurance scams in my next article where I will also give tips on how to avoid such scams.

Remember, you should not be a fraud victim! This article is published in line with the ZRP theme for the year 2012;  “ZRP, for total peace, stability and progress” and in conjunction with CID Serious Fraud Squad’s vision; “To be a beacon of excellence in the fight against economic crime in Zimbabwe.” Keep reading for more information.

• For your comments and assistance with information that can be helpful to CID Serious Fraud Squad, you can contact me on 04-753543/0772 764 043 and on Email:teezmuleya@gmail.com.