EAGAN, Minn. – In February 2012, Federal authorities busted a no-fault auto insurance scam in New York orchestrated by the Russian Mob that netted $275 million in staged car crashes and fake injuries.

This case underscores a growing threat of insurance fraud scams being perpetrated by organized crime, which accounts for a part of the $80 billion in non-medical insurance fraud losses U.S. insurance companies face each year.

A new white paper by the Fraud Prevention and Investigation unit of Thomson Reuters, Detecting and Investigating the Growing Presence of Organized Crime in Insurance Fraud, offers a look at how organized crime groups have found a new source of revenue in insurance fraud and how insurance investigators and law enforcement counter this emerging threat.

The free white paper, which includes perspectives from an executive director from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, a director from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and a government analyst and product manager from Thomson Reuters, is available to download at http://bit.ly/16CboGe.

“From higher insurance premiums to the possibility of becoming a target of an insurance scam, all Americans have a vested interest in preventing insurance fraud,” said Andy Russell, vice president, Fraud Prevention and Investigations, Thomson Reuters. “And while organized crime may have made a sophisticated game of insurance fraud, insurance companies and investigators now have access to the technology and tools to confront their efforts.”

Among the technology insurance companies, investigators and law enforcement agencies turn to is CLEAR®, a powerful, next generation investigative suite that investigators can use to research people and organizations suspected of criminal activity.

The CLEAR investigative suite, in combination with other traditional investigative methods, can help law enforcement, government agencies, insurance companies, financial institutions and corporate security organizations identify and connect people and organizations who commit insurance fraud; recover stolen funds, goods or identities; and increase public safety.

“What insurance companies and law enforcement agencies are beginning to realize is that technology and data analytics are worth the investment to help them work smarter and more efficiently,” Russell said.

Thomson Reuters
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