Scammers ‘farming’ for details

COVERT international cold calling syndicates are impersonating government officials and illicitly obtaining the vehicle accident records of Queenslanders so they can sell prospective litigation cases to lawyers.

Authorities believe the dubious practice known as “claim farming” is behind a sudden spike in compulsory third party insurance claims despite a decline in crashes.

There are fears the practice will lead to a surge in unnecessary, exaggerated and fraudulent claims against the CTP scheme which will drive up the premiums paid on vehicle registration.

In correspondence obtained by News Corp, Insurance Commissioner Neil Singleton warned the predominantly UK-based claim-farming firms were masquerading as Motor Accident Insurance Commission representatives to entice accident victims to take legal action.

Claim numbers through the CTP scheme jumped from between 6081 and 6447 over the previous five years to 6879 in 2015.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt said the matter was being investigated.