Spam Leads $4900 Fraud

A local resident reported that she had been conned out of $4900. On November 15th, the resident made the report to Sheriff's Sgt Jason Williams.

The 47 year old female reported that she answered an e-mail about becoming a mystery shopper. She then received a package via fed-ex containing two checks, each for $2450. She was told to use $100 to shop at Wal-Mart, use $50 for gas, and keep $200 for her pay.

Security Firm Holding Competition for New Agents

He's all dressed up for a rumble in the jungle, or an ambush in the bush. Pretty exciting stuff for someone who works in insurance.

This fierce-looking fellow is actually an investigator of insurance fraud, a crime which costs the industry millions and leads to premium hikes for the rest of us.

He and his colleagues are called in by insurance companies to gather evidence, sometimes on video, against suspect claimants, such as those who say they are incapacitated by injury.

Mother, Daughter, and Accomplice in "Stolen" Car Scheme

Thanks to a tip from Yavapai Silent Witness and extensive follow-up by a Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Detective, 3 suspects have been arrested for participating in an insurance fraud scheme involving the “stolen” vehicle and rims. The suspects include Chino Valley residents Tracey Tatum, age 39, Lacey Tatum, age 21, and Mayer resident Terrell Loomis, age 39.

Washington Launches New Insurance Fraud Web Site

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is using his office's Web site to help fight insurance fraud.

In an effort to protect consumers, the fraud section of the site has been expanded to educate people on how to recognize and avoid fraud, and to make reporting easier. It also features facts about fraud and examples of real cases.

"Insurance fraud is a widespread problem and many people never think about it or consider how it affects them," Kreidler said. "For example, people might think that padding an insurance claim is a victimless crime, but they're wrong. Every one of us pays more to make up for people who cheat the system.

Possum Urine, Spent Syringes: Tools of Mortgage Scammers

Subprime loans are gone, but mortgage fraud is alive and well, a Freddie Mac mortgage fraud investigator says.

During the mortgage fraud boom, predatory borrowers overpriced properties, took out 100 percent financing, paid the seller a lower price and pocketed the rest. The scammer stopped paying the mortgage in a few months.

No longer, says Jenny Brawley, a mortgage fraud investigator at Freddie Mac.

“Most of my cases right now involve loans that are current,” she said this morning at the National Association of Realtors conference in Orlando

Insurance InvestigatorTip Helps Police Catch Major Fraud Ring

Asian-Americans in Flushing were targeted by an insurance fraud ring that staged fake car accidents and filed phony medical claims under the state's no-fault insurance law, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said yesterday in announcing the indictments of 61 people across the city.

The 19-month investigation by at least 100 city police officers and FBI agents came after police received a tip from an insurance investigator in March 2007 that there was a pattern of accidents along Northern and Parsons boulevards dating back to 2005, the district attorney said at a news conference in Kew Gardens.

In "Operation Direct Hit," authorities also conducted surveillance in the Flushing area, listened in on telephone conversations between the alleged scammers and videotaped inside a Manhattan clinic where phony medical claims allegedly were filed, Brown said.

The fraud ring took advantage of the no-fault insurance law's provision that allows a person injured in an automobile crash to receive up to $50,000 for medical costs stemming from the crash. Those indicted are charged with bilking insurance carriers out of more than $1.6 million through allegedly fake medical claims, the district attorney said.