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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Rupert Jones

Fraudsters editing vehicle photos to add fake damage in UK insurance scam

Image of silver van from social media next to image of same van where fake cracks have been added to the bumper
In one case an image of a tradesperson’s van was taken from social media, left, and then cracks were added to the bumper for a fake insurance claim. Photograph: supplied

A surge in fraud cases in which photos are manipulated to show fake car crash damage is alarming insurers and helping to push motor insurance costs up to record levels.

The insurer Allianz said incidents where apps were used to distort real-life images, videos and documents increased by 300% between 2021-22 and 2022-23, and it added that this had “all the signs of becoming the latest big scam to hit the insurance industry”.

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