The Insurance Fraud Bureau has discovered more than 55,000 fraudulent insurance applications over the past year, and thousands are tied to ghost brokers. Ghost brokers offer exceptionally good deals on car insurance on social media without providing legitimate policies to buyers. An investigation showed a 31% increase in policy fraud in the first quarter of 2023. Consumers are advised to be wary and not be lured by exceptionally low premiums, to be suspicious of fee payments being directed to different accounts, to verify bank accounts they're asked to pay into, and not to exchange cash for insurance certificates in car parks or elsewhere.