Daily Mail

STEER CLEAR OF CROOKS SELLING FAKE CAR COVER

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BEWARE of adverts for cheap car insurance on social media and classified websites such as Gumtree.

Fraudsters pretending to be insurance brokers often target victims via these channels and offer to help them arrange cheap cover.

The crooks, known as ‘ghost brokers’, particular­ly target students and young people who are struggling to find affordable car insurance.

They will forge insurance documents or falsify the drivers’ details to get a cheaper policy — which invalidate­s it — or cancel the policy straight away and pocket the refund from the insurer. They will normally charge the victim a fee for their ‘services’.

Action Fraud, the crime monitoring body, warns that criminals stole £ 631,000 through 850 scams between 2014 and 2017, with each victim losing £769 on average.

The City of London Police’s insurance fraud enforcemen­t department was able to take action in 417 of these cases, which included a conman who set up 133 fake policies, a teenage ghost broker who was sentenced to jail and a fraudster who made £59,000 from ghost broking.

But the police believe the true number of ghost broking victims may be much higher, as some motorists may be driving on the roads right now, unaware that their policy is fraudulent. It might only be when they are stopped by police or attempt to make a claim after an incident that they will find out that they don’t have genuine cover.

Detective chief inspector Andy Fyfe, head of the City of London Police’s insurance fraud enforcemen­t department, says: ‘Ghost brokers trick unsuspecti­ng victims with offers of heavily discounted car insurance, leaving them with a policy that isn’t worth the paper it’s written on and open to the harm that comes with driving without valid insurance.

‘As well as the personal harm experience­d by victims, ghost brokers cause financial harm to the insurance industry, driving up the cost of insurance premiums for all motorists.

‘While an offer of cheap car insurance may seem tempting, falling victim to ghost broking will end up costing you far more in the long run — both in terms of money and your licence.’

Driving uninsured can mean a fine of £300 and six penalty points. If the case goes to court, you could be handed an unlimited fine and be disqualifi­ed from driving.

Drivers looking to save money on their car insurance should look on comparison websites such as Moneysuper­market, Go Compare, Comparethe­market or u Switch.

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