Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud steals $80 billion every year.

What is Fraud?
Insurance fraud is when people deceive an insurance company or agent to collect money to which they aren’t entitled. Similarly, insurers and agents also defraud consumers, or even each other. Insurance fraud can either be "hard" or "soft."

Hard Fraud: Someone deliberately fakes an accident, injury, theft, arson or other loss to collect money illegally from the insurance companies. Crooks often act alone, but increasingly, teams or organized crime rings stage large schemes that steal millions of dollars.

Soft Fraud: Normally honest people often tell "little white lies" to insurance companies. Many people think it is just harmless fudging. Soft fraud is a crime, and raises everyone’s insurance costs. Example: car owner inflates a fender bender claim to cover her deductible, or she understates how many miles she drives annually to lower her auto premium… A homeowner inflates the value of their stereo equipment stolen during a robbery… Or a printing business lists fewer employees than it really has in order to pay lower workers compensation premiums.

One of the many ways fraud is detected and put to a stop is through the use of Private Investigators. One of the ways Investigators can find out is by the daily activities of a claimant to determine if they are exaggerating their claim or if it is legitimate.

Signs of Infidelity:

They are too tired to be intimate with you at night.
 
They want to be intimate with you EVERY night- and have some new moves up their sleeves.
 
They start working late- a lot.
 
They start working out or want to lose those unwanted pounds.
 
They turn their phone on silent when they are at home- and don't even look at it when it goes off.
 
They whisper and then hang up the phone when you enter the room.
 
They start having new hobbies and you're not included.
 
You can't find any cell phone bills... or the credit card statements.
 
They start having a boys or girls night out- and never have before.
 
They buy new clothes... or come home with new clothes and you're not sure who bought them.
 
Their cell phone never leaves there side.
 
They blow up at you for the slightest thing and then leave the house for hours.
 
They keep that distant look in their eyes... like even when there with you- they aren’t.
 
You catch the look happening between someone they work with... 'the longer-than-normal' linger.
 
You get hang-up calls at home.
 
You meet people they work with and they act strangely toward you... kind of nervous...
 
Spends a lot of time at the computer- even after you go to sleep. And then erases the history files EVERY night.
 
Has an email account you didn't know about- and changed their passwords to the ones you do know about.
 
You meet someone they work with and they are very 'stand-offish'.
 
Your gut just says- "Something is not right."

Don’t confront them unless you have proof or you may never know the truth. You need facts to base your decisions on.

Resources:
Federal and State Agencies:
• TCPS - Texas Commission on Public Security
• DHS - Department of Homeland Security
• FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation
• FTC - Federal Trade Association
• SEC - Securities and Exchange Commission

 Trade Associations:
• TALI - Texas Association of Licensed Investigators
• NALI - National Association of Legal Investigators
• NTPIA - North Texas Private Investigators Association
• NAIS - National Association of Investigative Specialists
• ACA - ACA International
• ACAT - American Collectors Association of Texas