Fraudster shown up by damning CCTV footage

A 50-year-old man was given an adult caution after falsely claiming to have been in a car accident and CCTV footage showed that he wasn't even in the car at the time.

The accident happened as a woman reversed her car into another vehicle in a Halfords carpark; the other driver submitted a personal injury claim, stating that he'd received injuries as a result of the collision and was seeking up to £5,000 in compensation from LV.

However, the woman requested CCTV footage from Halfords which eventually showed that the other 50-year-old driver was stood next to her at the time of the collision.

"This was one of the most blatant cases I've dealt with and he was clearly lying to LV to try and get a compensation payout for injuries he never received," said detective constable Mohammed Darr, from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.

"He now has this on his criminal record and he also has to declare the fact he was involved in fraudulent activity to his employer as he is in a notifiable occupation."

An investigation was carried out by the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department when LV contacted it about a suspected fraudulent claim linked to a collision in a car park in Slough in November 2015.

"As well as being criminal, this kind of behaviour also drives up insurance premiums for honest customers and we all end up footing the bill," added Darr.

"It may be tempting to submit exaggerated or dishonest claims to try and increase an insurance claim, but it is fraud and where cases are identified they can be passed to police and you could end up with a criminal record, a conviction, or even end up in prison."

The dodgy driver was interviewed by Ifed officers in July, during which time he tried to maintain his story, but upon being showed the footage the mad admitted to making up the whole story.

He was given a police caution on 2 August 2016 and Ifed officers are releasing footage of the incident to warn people of the consequences of submitting fraudulent claims.

"This Individual believed that he could make a claim for compensation when he had not suffered a genuine injury," said Clare Lunn, head of claims crime prevention at LV.

"Claimants need to understand that fraud is not a victim-less crime and can result in serious consequences to themselves.

"No matter how tempting the financial reward appears they should not be fooled into making false claims. We hope this sends a clear message to other have-a-go fraudsters."