Has vehicular insurance fraud become more sophisticated in the country and is it now targeting high-value policies?: what experts say
Vehicle insurance fraud Photo: Image generated with Artificial Intelligence - ChatGPT
TL;DR
- More than 20,000 Colombians have been victims of online vehicular insurance fraud.
- The fraud has evolved into an organized operation active for at least three years.
- Scammers contact drivers before their policies expire using precise personal information.
- The operation initially focused on SOAT but migrated to "all-risk" policies in 2024, with higher economic impact.
- Fraudsters use public data (RUNT, insurance validity) and then contact victims via call or WhatsApp with fake offers.
- Payments are requested through unofficial channels like personal accounts, QR codes, or digital wallets, never official ones.
- The precision of the information used by scammers raises concerns about data access.
- Geographic patterns in reported cases suggest localized operations.
- Fasecolda warns of increasing fraud, but dismantling networks is complex due to underreporting.
- The key to avoiding fraud is verifying the payment channel directly with the insurer, not the information provided by the contact.