Victims pay for the policy through WhatsApp, and the seller sends them a forged certificate of insurance. (Credit: BigTunaOnline/Shutterstock.com)
Utah is warning consumers not to fall for insurance scams on WhatsApp and through unlicensed agents.
The fraud division of the state’s insurance department said it’s seeing fake auto insurance policies being marketed to the Hispanic community via WhatsApp and through fake agents.
“Unknown sellers, who we believe to be located outside of the United States, continue to market fake insurance policies to unsuspecting victims,” said Fraud Division Director Armand Glick in a statement. “Victims make payment for the insurance policy through WhatsApp, then the seller sends them a forged certificate of insurance. The fake policy lists the identity of a local Utah insurance agent as their agent. While the name of the agent is real, his identity has been stolen, and he is not the person selling the fake policy.”
Fake insurance policies can land consumers in trouble. They not only lose money by paying for a fake insurance policy, but they could also have their vehicle registrations revoked for driving without insurance.
Utah authorities are also investigating a person acting as an unlicensed agent.
“We are currently investigating a person acting as an unlicensed agent who has sold hundreds of policies over the phone,” said Glick. “The suspect’s phone number is being passed by word-of-mouth to others in the community because he can obtain lower insurance rates.”
The man, who is not a real insurance agent, enters false information online to purchase real insurance policies that are then provided to the buyer. Even though the policies are real, they are unlikely to be honored by an insurer because they were obtained using false information.
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