Drivers in the dark over ghost scams

Drivers are being urged to watch out for bogus motor insurance deals on social media, following warnings that far more people could fall for the scams amid the cost of living crisis.

Fake motor insurance deals, which are also known as “ghost broking” scams, involve fraudsters pretending to be brokers in a bid to offer unsuspecting customers temptingly cheap yet entirely fake insurance policies.

Yougov research reveals that only one in six people is currently aware of ghost broking scams, despite their prevalence on Facebook and Instagram.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) discovered more than 55,000 fraudulent motor insurance applications in the past 12 months – more than double the figure previously detected, with ghost brokers linked to thousands of cases.

There are concerns that the number of victims will rise fast unless more is done to alert people to signs of the scam.

Ursula Jallow, director at the IFB, said: “We urge anyone with evidence of an insurance scam to report it to us straight away.”

How to spot the signs of a ghost broking scam:

● Many ghost brokers offer up-front fixed prices without any form of assessment, even though motor insurance is priced based on the risk of the information provided by the policyholder. In some instances, ghost brokers will carry out a mock assessment but the price still will usually be unrealistically cheap.

● Ghost brokers may behave in an unprofessional way and encourage victims to speak on end-to-end encrypted messaging apps including Whatsapp, to keep illegal dealings in private.