NCJ Number
79527
Journal
Security Management Volume: 25 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1981) Pages: 57-61
Date Published
1981
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Written for security and corporate management personnel, this article discusses the increasing problem of insurance fraud, common scams to make claims on health, fire, and property insurance and ways to detect it.
Abstract
Fraud should be considered when reviewing an insurance claim in which the reported injuries are all soft tissue; the claimant seems to know all the fine details of the claim settlement process and is pushing for a quick settlement; the doctor who issued the medical bill cannot be traced; pharmaceutical bills seem to be forged; or accounts of the accident by other witnesses, passengers, or police do not conform to the claimant's story. Maintaining a good working relationship between the security and corporate insurance departments of a company can keep fraudulent claims to a minimum. Separation of duties helps remove the temptation for employees to commit fraud in corporate insurance departments. Retail fraud, in which retail operations with old, damaged, or otherwise unsaleable goods fraudulently claimed as stolen, is perpetrated to recover their losses or to pad a real claim to include leftover goods. Also discussed are clues to uncover a faked hijacking of goods, arson claims, and fraudulent product liability claims. The article notes that in response to the surge in insurance fraud, major insurers are developing special investigative units to check suspicious claims. These units then report their findings to appropriate law enforcement agencies.